Do Termites Need Oxygen to Survive?
WouterIf you’ve ever wondered how termites survive, you might be surprised to learn that they don’t really have any lungs. Instead, they breathe through their skin. They’re also not very good at surviving high temperatures and dry conditions. However, they do have a better-than-average ventilation system.
There have been several studies about termites and their ability to breath. While some scientists claim that termites breathe, there is no scientific proof to support this claim. Some other researchers believe that they obtain oxygen from the air, or from wood. In addition to consuming oxygen, termites may also release N2O, an emission known to be produced by denitrifying bacteria.
Whether termites are capable of breathing has been debated for years. Some scientists suggest that they do not have lungs, while others point to the ability to respire as a sign of their survival. In fact, researchers have shown that termite mounds can act like lungs, providing an efficient method of ventilation.
Other researchers have suggested that termites might be able to breathe underwater. The study compared the production of N2O by different species of termites. Using a variety of termite species from across the world, the study found that soil-feeding termites produce the highest level of N2O.
The study also compared N2O production rates by termites in various substrates. In particular, it looked at how much N2O is produced by termites when they’re incubating with mound material. The results of this study show that live termites incubated in the presence of the mound exhibited a much greater increase in N2O production than did live termites incubated with a control.
