Termite Colony Observations

<< Sketch of initial jar setup.

Materials used:

• About 1" x 1" x 1/4" piece of Douglas Fir wood
• 120 grams silica sand
• 18 ml of water
• termites

Changes in the Habitat Over Time:

Substrate(sand)-During the month after the jar was set up, tunnels were built in the sand. The tunnels were not strong enough to hold when the jar was shaken up. Some tunnels were rebuilt in the sand after that.
Piece of wood-I saw little, to no, change in the wood. I believe the termites did build a tunnel to the wood though.
Moisture content-All the water was pored on one side of the sand. The moisture was eventually soaked up by the rest of the sand. The wood looked a little moist.
Termite activity level-When the termites were first put in, they were scrambling all over the sand and wood in the jar. After the first few weeks, there were less of them that could be seen, because there were probably many in the tunnels. After the jar was shaken, I could see even less termites and they seemed to be busy at work. On the last observation, I saw the least termites and they were either moving very slowly, or not moving at all. :(

Impact of Human Interaction: The jar being shaken demolished their termite town. the tunnels were gone, and the sand surface was a steep slope. The termites were scrambling around the surface. I think they were communicating and trying to figure out how to rebuild the tunnels. I could see less termites.






My opinion on the termite unit: Studying termites was very interesting. Before this unit, I knew very little about them. I didn't realize the organization of the colony. I just knew that they eat wood, look like ants, and sometimes have wings. I think my favorite part was looking at the live protozoa through the microscope. That was the first time I ever watched any live micro-organisms in person. I can't think of any particular thing that I disliked most. The information I learned has already come in handy. I was looking at a house for sale with my family and saw that there were termites by some frass in the downstairs bathroom. I was fascinated by this unit and enjoyed it very much! :)