Build it like the termites

Termites are often called the architects of the insect world. Standing at a whooping height of 7.5m (Anitei, 2007), termite mounds are definitely much more than your average anthill. Who says we can’t make a mountain out of a molehill? What lies inside the mound is a bustling city of tunnels and shafts where the termites store everything from their larvae young to their agriculture (not just food, but agriculture!). The picture below shows the structure inside a termite mound.

(Picture from Nature, n.d.)

A single vent comes down from above the mound and is connected to various tunnels that air from the whole nest can flow into (Nature, n.d.). The warmer air from the nest rises up to be expelled out of the mound while cooler air sinks. This ensures that the air circulating in the nest is maintained at a tolerable temperature. The termite city is actually located underground (number 3 as shown in the picture). There, you can see large networks of tunnels and little ‘rooms’ partitioned by thin walls. These small critters even have a fungal garden where they grow fungus that they consume. The fungus requires a steady temperature to thrive, hence it is crucial that the nest has a stable temperature. How then do the termites enter and leave the nest? There are entrances at the base of the mound (labeled number 4 in the picture). The last part of the mound is the cellar, the bottom-most structure in the mound. The top of the cellar contains a layer of thin plates that absorb moisture from the nest above. Evaporation of this moisture helps to reduce the temperature of the whole nest.

Ingenious, isn’t it?

Perhaps we can learn something from the design of the termite’s mound to create an underground city for ourselves!


Literature Cited:
Anitei, S., 2007. The Largest Natural Buildings. Softpedia, 20 June 2007. URL: http://m.softpedia.com/the-largest-architectonic-buildings-in-nature-57816.html. Last accessed on 13 Sep 2014.
Nature, n.d. The Incredible Termite Mound. Nature, The Animal House. URL: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/the-animal-house/the-incredible-termite-mound/7222/. Last accessed on 6 Sep 2014.