Termites: The Insect Architects

Termite don't have the use of specialized tools, mathematical theory or blueprints when they build their termite mounds, yet these structures make use of advanced ventilation techniques to keep the insides cool.

Peter Reuell, a Harvard Staff Writer, wrote an interesting article that discusses the advance building techniques that termites use and the research that scientists have conducted to get a better understanding for application towards human building methods.

The mounds are built around large central “chimneys” that reach from gallery ― the underground vault where the bulk of the colony lives ― to the top of the mound. While the interior of the mound features large structural walls, the exterior is far thinner, with walls that, while impermeable to wind, allow for the exchange of gases.
During the day, Mahadevan explained, as sunlight warms the mound’s outer walls, the air inside warms, causing it to rise.
“What you get is a convection cell,” Mahadevan said. “The warm air can’t move through the walls quickly enough, but it has to go somewhere, and the only possibility is for it to go down into the interior through the central chimney. At night, as the exterior cools, the airflow reverses, and it pulls the air up from the central part of the mound.” Read the complete article at: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/how-termites-ventilate/

 

Further research is highlighted in the article titled, "How termite mounds ‘breathe’" where the author Emily DeMarco discusses how scientists made headway in figuring out the natural cooling mechanics of  termite mounds by using thermal imaging equipment.

Now, by using thermal imagery and installing tiny air-flow sensors in about two dozen termite (Odontotermes obesus) mounds, scientists think they have solved the mystery. Their investigation revealed that the mounds act like an “external lung,” harnessing the change in temperature as day becomes night to drive ventilation. Here’s how it works: Inside the hill is a large central chimney connected to a system of conduits located in the mound’s thin, flutelike buttresses. During the day, the air in the thin buttresses warms more quickly than the air in the insulated chimney. As a result, the warm air rises, whereas the cooler, chimney air sinks—creating a closed convection cell that drives circulation, not external pressure from wind as had been hypothesized. At night, however, the ventilation system reverses, as the air in the buttresses cools quickly, falling to a temperature below that of the central chimney. The complete story is located at: http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2015/08/how-termite-mounds-breathe

A fascinating fact is that these mounds last for extremely long periods of time. A recent Popular Science article quoted this startling fact;

These termite mounds, complete with ventilation systems, can last for ages. One mound, recently found in Africa is over 2,000 years old. This article can be found at: http://www.popsci.com/termites-engineer-solar-powered-ventilation-into-their-mounds

Whether or not you view termites as a pest to be eliminated, you must admit that they are fascinating insects and that humans can actually learn something from their habitats!

image credit: blickwinkel/Alamy (http://news.sciencemag.org)