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Termites: Destroyers or recyclers?

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Termites in tree bark
Termites: Destroyers or recyclers?

SUBJECTS:  Science

YEARS:  F–2, 3–4


Be amazed by what these young scientists find out about termites.

Discover where termites live and what they eat.

You may be surprised to find out that they are not actually ants, and that they are blind!

This video was a finalist in the 2013 Sleek Geeks Eureka Science School Prize competition.


Things to think about

  1. 1.What do you know about termites? What are they, what do they look like, and what do they eat? Do you know why the termite is sometimes considered a pest in Australia?
  2. 2.The ranger in the clip says termites do something helpful for the environment. What is it? Termites are not ants. What are they? Termites are blind. Which of the other four senses do they use to find their way? What do termites eat and what do they have in their stomach so they can eat this?
  3. 3.Describe what a termite is, where it lives, and its role in the environment. Draw a termite in the place where it lives.
  4. 4.Termites are social insects that live in nests within colonies. Find out about other Australian animals that live in colonies. What are some of the ways being in a colony helps them to survive?



Production Date: 2013


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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