Doorkeeper Ant vs Dark Mound Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Doorkeeper Ant Dark Mound Termite
Scientific Name Colobopsis truncata Macrotermes carbonarius
Order Hymenoptera Blattodea
Family Formicidae Termitidae
Size 3-6 mm 5–12 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Gall Makers Fungus Feeders
Regions Southern and Central Europe Southeast Asia
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Doorkeeper Ant

A European carpenter ant in which soldiers have uniquely flattened, plug-shaped heads used to block nest entrances in plant stems. Workers are bicolored yellow and dark brown. They nest in hollow twigs and galls of various trees.

💡

Did You Know?

Soldier ants literally use their flattened heads as living doors, opening the nest entrance only when nestmates present the correct chemical password.

Dark Mound Termite

A large fungus-growing termite found across Southeast Asia that builds conspicuous dark mounds. Workers process dead wood through underground fungal gardens.

💡

Did You Know?

The Termitomyces mushrooms that fruit from its mounds are prized as a delicacy across Southeast Asia.