Termite Bloom & The Lizard
On a recent visit to an expat American’s nipa hut residence, I witnessed what appreared to be a termite “bloom”. The local resident expert, another expat American, Jil Wrinkle, told us that what we were witnessing was a “termite bloom” and that it would only last about an hour, and then the termites would lose their wings and drop to the ground and mate.
I did not observe any actual matings between the insects.
However, what I did initially doubt, what I was told about their swarming the lights only lasting an hour or so, came true. In less than an hour all the flying termites were gone and there were a lot of little wings scattered about.
The area was populated with a large assortment of lizards from just a couple of inches long to more than a foot long. I also noticed that after the termites quit flying there were many toads about on the ground, hopping from spot to spot, apparently feasting on the now wingless termites that were perpectively mating.