Termites and Termite Mounds: Some Selected Observations

The paper sets out to explore “termites and termite mounds”. Eight aspects will be considered: (1) termites and termite mounds; (2) termites as major agents of the pedofauna in several tropical macro-ecosystems and their profoundly disrupting behaviour; (3) termite mounds as key features in the landscape, presenting an astonishing local typology; (4) termite mounds as a particular habitat, a well‑differentiated sub-eco­system, hosting some species belonging to several kingdoms whose distribution is restric­ted to this habitat; (5) the diversity of termitophagy; (6) the importance of termites in building towns and for other uses of termite mounds; (7) the diverse cultural perceptions of termites, i.e. their place in religion, myths, their medicinal use, and the methods used to catch them. Finally, and importantly, (8) termites and termite mounds as a source of wisdom, indicated by more than two hundred proverbs recorded in more than sixty dif­ferent languages.Paper presented at the meeting of the Section of Natural and Medical Sciences held on 29 May 2018. Text received on 15 October 2018 and submitted to peer review. Final version, approved by the reviewers, received on 4 February 2019