...they're something far more interesting.
Ten points to the first person who identifies the orange balls. These were photographed inside a termite nest in southern Illinois last fall.
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I did not expect everyone to nearly instantaneously solve yesterday's termite ball mystery. I'm either going to have to post more difficult challenges (from now on, nothing will be in focus!) or attract a slower class of reader.
Cuckoo fungus grows in a termite nest.
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Alright, Sherlock. What's going on here?
Five points each for the identity of the big round thing, for the insect at the top, and for the insect at the side. Ten points for describing the story.
And a freebie point to anyone who comes up with an idea for what to do with all these points.
This…
In the Goualougo Triangle of the Republic of Congo, a chimpanzee is hungry for termites. Its prey lives within fortress-like nests, but the chimp knows how to infiltrate these. It plucks the stem from a nearby arrowroot plant and clips any leaves away with its teeth, leaving behind a trimmed,…
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How about fungi/fungal balls?
Egg-mimicking fungus...
Wow, you guys are fast!
3 vote for fungus. They look like the Fibularhizoctonia sclerotia reported by Matsuura et al. 2000.
I believe the official term is "Termite Balls"
I've seen those! See my photo here:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/658/bgimage
Snail eggs?
Okay, I missed the fungus answer. Hey, it's early in the morning here. :-)
Tell me now!