NIGHT FLIGHT

On spring evenings in West Bengal, termites take to the skies on gossamer-lace wings for their brief nuptial flights

- PAUL BLOOMFIELD

The phenomenon of synchronised colonising flights is common among the world's 3,000 or so termite species. On a suitable evening - typically between February and June in West Bengal, north-east India - winged males and females known as alates emerge in their hundreds or even thousands from a mature colony, briefly flying towards light before selecting a sexual partner. Each pair lands, sheds their wings and finds a suitable site for a nest, perhaps in a crevice. They then mate and begin the process of establishing a new colony. To capture both movement patterns and body details of alates swarming beneath street lights in my home town, Cooch Behar, I used a slow shutter speed with a low-intensity flash explains photographer Ripan Biswas. After a lot of adjustments, finally I captured this image.

Deadly cousin

Despite their ant-like appearance, termites are actually more closely related to cockroaches, and belong to the same insect order, Blattodea. That doesn't stop those larger, faster predators from hunting their cousins. This cockroach was one of many feasting on termites that congregated under a lightbulb on the floor of a cowshed, explains Ripan.

Easy pickings

Each alate is focused on following a light source and finding a mate, so pays little attention to where it lands - even settling on predators such as this Asian common toad, hungry after emerging from hibernation in April. “The amphibian quickly filled its mouth with termites, but still they landed on its body and even its eyes, Ripan recalled. The toad's bemused look seems to reflect the situation.

On guard