The next day, after we packed our gear and had breakfast, we followed Pat to the place where we found a large number of termite nests.
Since we might be facing giant ants this time, thorough preparation is essential. Avoiding a direct confrontation would be ideal, but if we do encounter them, it will give us a chance to escape.
In addition to my usual equipment, I also carried a bundle of firewood that had already dried out completely on my back.
Carrying a bundle of these dry firewood for several kilometers is not a big problem for us. During our training, the raw firewood was two-thirds heavier than this.
It's a pity that the sap from the sap tree is all used up. It would be even better if we could get some more. That stuff, when combined with fire, is a natural secret weapon to control insects.
We traveled relatively safely along the way. Having learned from our previous experience, we remained cautious in this unfamiliar area.
Therefore, our progress was not fast, and it took us almost an hour to reach the location where Pat discovered a large number of termite nests.
When we arrived here, the first thing we saw was a large number of small mounds of earth, each more than three meters high.
These mounds are termite nests, an important means for termites to defend against invading enemies.
Termite nests are mainly composed of the following materials:
- Soil and clay: Worker ants transport soil and clay to the nest building site, bind them together with saliva, and build the basic structure of the nest, such as passages and nest chambers.
- Wood chips and plant fibers: Wood chips produced by termites after they bore into wood, as well as plant fibers obtained from the surrounding environment, mixed with soil and saliva, can increase the stability of the nest structure.
- Termite excrement: Termite excrement contains undigested wood fibers and other substances. After processing, it can be used as building material to reinforce nests or fill gaps.
- Saliva secretions: The saliva secreted by termites contains special chemical components. When mixed with soil, sawdust, etc., it can act as a binder and hardener, making the nest more sturdy.
Termite nests are among nature's greatest architectural feats, capable of automatically regulating their internal temperature to maintain a stable range of 26 degrees Celsius year-round.
This also creates a favorable living environment for the termite queen to reproduce and thrive.
Judging from the size of these termite nests, it must be a large colony that has settled here. Moreover, these nests are not abandoned; the soil outside looks quite fresh, suggesting they were built within the last two months.
It is now certain that these termite colonies are worth the giant ants' attention.
However, there is one thing I don't quite understand: the termite colony here has reached the point of being rampant.
However, I noticed that there were still many tall and straight trees nearby. Moreover, I used a knife to cut some bark off a tree that was closer to the termites and found that there was no sign of termites eating into the bark.
At first, I thought it was a problem with the trees; perhaps some trees contain toxins, which is why the termites didn't bother them.
It wasn't until I peeled the bark off several trees, and the trees were clearly different species, that I discovered this strange scene.
If a tree is not eaten by termites, you can barely say it's lucky, but without exception, none of these trees show any signs of being eaten by termites!
This is unusual, very unusual! It's like putting a plate of fish next to a cat and begging it not to eat it.
Is there any food that could make termites give up their plan to destroy trees?
Perhaps this is also why a large number of termites choose to settle here long-term; like giant ants, they are seeking better food.
I searched my memory carefully for a while and came up with some things that could be related to the situation here.
Suddenly, a scene from a cave painting in the Mila tribe came to mind.
Those were the only ants marked with white mineral pigment, and they were moving about on a series of strangely shaped trees.
These trees are cone-shaped, large at the bottom and small at the top. They have no leaves, and the top is covered by a huge, round cap that looks like it's being opened. This thing is Protosporum.
Records from the cave indicate that termites are guardians of the forest's balance. They prefer to live on the massive, more energy-efficient, and nutrient-rich Protoplastia pulcherrima, rather than on trees.
In the early Pephagocytic period, *Protozoa* served as food for some herbivorous insects, demonstrating that its nutritional advantages outweighed those of harder, more indigestible tree fibers.
It's like putting a plate of bland vegetables and a plate of braised pork knuckle together; as long as your brain doesn't have any major problems, you'll instinctively choose the second one without hesitation.
Upon learning that there were already *Prosopa spp.* here, it seemed that there were quite a few of them, otherwise it would not have attracted so many termites to settle here.
If it's a metamorphic fungus like Protoporphyra, then all the unusual things happening here make sense.
Firstly, Protozoa grows extremely fast, reaching a giant fruiting body in just a few days.
This is something trees can't compare to, since these fungi are actually the ancestors of trees. Whether it's underground mycelial reproduction or spore dispersal, they can allow this population to expand rapidly.
Firstly, a large amount of Protoplastrus orbiculatus can naturally provide enough food for a large termite colony without any pressure.
Once termites obtain high-quality food, their population naturally expands at a faster pace.
In environments with abundant food, termite populations reach their maximum carrying capacity. Tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of termites will leave the nest, grow wings, and fly away to mate.
Tens of thousands of successfully matched termites will be reborn here. The female and male termites will come to the hollowed-out tree to build a platform, and then begin to lay eggs and hatch them, gradually building their own kingdom.
There will naturally be some losses. Some termites will die during the swarming season, which is usually when birds are most active. Birds will make some termites their food.
However, there will still be a large number of termites that successfully mate. In addition, the difficulty of the termites to bore into trees is dozens of times less than that of trees, making it the first batch of cheap apartments tailor-made for them.
Sometimes, a single *Protoporphyra* plant may initially contain several differentiated termite colonies. Only after the *Protoporphyra* plant has been destroyed and collapsed will these termites rebuild their nests with mud.
However, by the time they reached this stage, their population had become enormous. This was precisely when the giant ants returned to reap their spoils.
Termites are like livestock kept in captivity by giant ants; when the time is right, they will return and harvest all these high-protein resources.
This has resulted in many places being left with empty termite nests, which have been wiped out before they could continue their activities.
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