Termites - Termites usually eat in trees and live elsewhere. (Some tropical termites live in nests on trees.) Termites that eat wood in living trees follow the CODIT patterns. "In 1968 DR. SHIGO saw convincing experiments showing the effects of electromagnetic fields on communications among termites. To show the effects, Prof. Dr. Gunter Becker from Berlin said that you must first decrease the survival pressures on the termites." (TREE PITHY POINTS, SHIGO, 1999)
More on the topic: Termites are a primitive group of insects that are social and live in colonies or communities. They have flat, soft-bodies, sometimes without eyes. When wings form, they are of equal size and extend beyond the bodies. They have a caste system. Each group performs specific functions-workers, and termites are often called white ants. Ants have 3 different body segments, and termites have 2. Termites eat wood and usually live someplace else. Ants live in wood, and usually eat someplace else. (Nature is always described by words that avoid an absolute condition because that is the way the system is; always vibrating.) Termites do eat cellulose, but they can not digest it without the help of microorganisms in their gut. Single-celled protozoans are the primary organisms that break the bonds that turn cellulose into units of glucose, and from there, the termite can break the glucose bonds, release the energy, and give off carbon dioxide and water. Termites have few natural enemies. Birds eat them by the thousands when the termites are in flight. There are 2 basic types of termites; subterranean and nonsubterranean. Termites must live in an environment where moisture in the air is high. Subterranean termites will build long shelter tubes from their nests to the site where they are eating. Be on alert for the tubes on the bases of trees. In warm climate, termite tubes are common on trees. The termites follow the fungi. High alert here: poorly pruned branches often appear to close rapidly, yet the fungi and termites infect and infest the exposed wood rapidly. Broken tops and branches are prime starting points for termites in trees. Termites follow the fungi and therefore they "follow" the CODIT patterns; even after the tree is cut.
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