Aging termites of the species Neocapritermes taracua, found in French Guiana, have an explosive means of launching themselves from this mortal coil. Like entomological suicide bombers, the termites store blue crystals, which develop over time, in an external structure. When a worker termite is threatened or attacked, its body wall ruptures and an internal gland secretes a fluid that mixes with the crystals to create a toxic mixture, deadly to the attacker.
Yves Roisin, an evolutionary biologist at Free University of Brussels, recently explained findings regarding this process in a July issue of the journal, “Science.” According to the doctor, young termites of this species are all white in their youth, but wear down their mandibles as they age and develop the blue crystals for defense.
The blue protein crystals contain copper and develop in at the junction between thorax and abdomen. As of now, the mixing secretion from the internal glad is still a mystery to scientists.
Current studies now focus on the contents of the secretion and why,
when mixed with the blue crystals, it is released.
Source: www.nytimes.com
You can reach Nepper at wnepper@northcoastmedia.net.
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