POOR LOST SOUL WAITING FOR A BRIDE

 

POOR LOST SOUL WAITING FOR A BRIDE

The lone termite alate destined to die with his wings on.

A collection of shed wings.

During a recent visit to Matheran, a small hill station near Mumbai I stumbled upon the remnants of termite swarms with innumerable shed wings found in our room, in other adjacent rooms, on the veranda and the steps leading to the veranda of the property. There was a single individual winged termite (Alate) that was seen with intact wings.

We had booked a room in the MTDC property that is located just adjacent to Dasturi Naka where the ‘share a taxi’ from Neral, the nearest railhead to Matheran drops its passengers, as motor vehicles are not permitted entry into this hill station. (Till recently the only forms of transport within the town  aside of walking was the narrow gauge Neral-Matheran railway, or ponies or hand drawn rickshaws. Now a days E autos have been permitted to ferry passengers from Dasturi Naka to the Matheran railway station in the heart of the town.)

The MTDC resort in Matheran is a heritage structure (as are so many buildings in Matheran, most of which are now run as hotels and resorts), set in two different blocks, one of which includes the old Dasturi Villa, Pathan villa & Hussain lodge, believed to have been built between 1854 and 1900. It forms an important landmark at the entry to the hill station with its decorative timber barge boards and semi-circular arched timber entranceway framed in ornamental fretwork.

The rooms ooze old world charm with tall ceilings, strategically placed sky lights, teak doors with brass fittings and old fashioned furniture made of reddish-brown Sheesham wood. (Indian Rosewood- Dalbergia sissoo)

Unfortunately due to poor maintainance the MTDC resort is riddled with termites with obvious infestation of the wood beams in the roofs. This creates an ideal situation for termite swarms as old colonies get congested and there is need for the future Queens to leave and form new colonies of their own.

TERMITE SWARMS

Termites are born with various castes which subserve distinct roles within the colony to ensure the survival and success of the termite colony. There are three castes of termite society namely, workers which are most numerous, soldiers which guard and protect the colony and reproductive termites.

An Alate is a winged termite that leaves the nest to start new colonies. Alates are produced when a colony reaches a certain size and needs to expand. The Alate nymphs are kept near the soil surface and nourished by the worker termites. When conditions are right hundreds or even thousands of alates from different colonies around the area take flight and swarm around to find mates from other colonies to allow genetic mixing. This process is called ‘swarming’ and may occur over several days. Once a couple is formed and they successfully mate, they shed their wings and the female seeks out a new suitable location to start a new colony of termites.

Swarming usually occurs once a year but may be delayed for few years or may occur even earlier depending on climatic and other environmental conditions and crowding of the colony. It usually occurs during daytime and mostly follows a thunderstorm or strong showers of monsoon.

TERMITE SWARMS AS A RICH FOOD SOURCE FOR AVI-FAUNA

Termite swarms are a protein rich source of food for avifauna particularly during the monsoon season in India. The synchronized emergence of winged termites provides for an easily accessible source of food for both resident and migratory birds and influences foraging behaviors and even long distance migration patterns in birds. 

After the first heavy monsoon rains mature termite colonies produce large swarms of winged reproductive alates for their nuptial flight. This rich food source is eagerly exploited by many birds.

1.      Amur Falcons migrate thousands of miles to Africa, stopping in northeast India in October and November precisely when termites swarm. Termites may make upto 95% of their diet during this crucial stopover providing them with much needed energy stores for their long transoceanic flight to Africa.

2.      Aerial hunters: Swallows, swifts and Brahminy kites catch flying termites on the wing often congregating in large numbers over swarming sites.

3.      Ground foragers: like Indian Robin and Mynas eat the termites that are on the ground after they mate and shedding of the wings occurs.

4.      Kingfishers: The white throated kingfisher has termites as a favorite on its menu.

5.      Woodpeckers: The Rufous woodpecker forages on ants and termites and is known for building its nests inside arboreal termite mounds.

The relationship between termite swarms and avifauna is a classic example of a ‘pulse resource’ phenomenon where a temporary but abundant food source has a profound impact on the local ecosystem.

 

MY PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS WITH TERMITES

I have encountered termite swarms within our house way back in 1988! I was working in Muscat and the house given to me was riddled with termites. Every room had wooden skirtings on the lower part of the walls which were full of termites. For 3 days in August of 1988 (peak humidity and heat in Muscat) we had hundreds of flying termites in different rooms, in the night (this is a variation from the usual swarms that usually occur in the daytime) with the next morning revealing hundred of shed wings all over the furniture and floors.

Termites, as I have learnt the hard way, have no respect for Academia or for hard earned degrees that our Universities award the students. All my original certificates starting from S.S.C to M. D were partially eaten up as they lay unprotected in wooden cupboards in the bedroom!!!

This story is about the Lone individual Alate that could not shed its wings as it did not find a bride. It was destined to die with its wings on as it had not mated and thus the wings would not fall off condemning it to the most ignominious death in the termite world. A sign of stark failure as it did not pass on its genes to the next generation of termites!

 

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