A normal stop off at the church turned into a Biology lesson. When we arrived, the gardener, his boss Brother Onditi and another member of the church were busy under the tree digging up the ground. When we inquired as to what they were up to, we were told that they had just located the queen and they were just watching the termite soldiers. I didn't know that the termites had queens or soldiers. In fact, I didn't know what a termite looked like. I knew the kind of damage they can do, because the house we live in had to be fumigated when the last couple lived here because of all the termites and the damage they had done. We don't have termites now, but we still live with a lot of their damage.
The queen was as long as and as big as my little finger. She was cream colored and about 90% of her was a big abdomen. She couldn't move, so the workers had come to rescue her and had gotten the troops together and they were trying to move her to safety. It was amazing to see the number of termites that were in the colony. They weren't eating the tree roots, but the tree was just a protection for them. Is it any wonder that the buildings here are made of concrete and not wooden structures like at home?
The gardeners moved on to the next tree which they found to also be infested with termites. They found a queen in that colony too, and an equal number of termites. It was an amazing thing to watch.
The kicker was that as they were telling us about them, they said that some people eat the queens. Gaaaagggggggggg! John came to the church to meet us about some business and he told us how as kids they used to put a green stick down into a termite hill and leave it for a minute and then pull it out, and there would be termites attached to it. I asked what they would do with them and he looked at me and said "Sister Jensen we would eat them, they are very delicious!" Later that day, Sister Taylor (wife of the mission president) told us that Elder Brewer ate them when he was serving in Kitale (out in the Kenya sticks). At zone conference, he admitted that it was true and that he liked them! He also likes surfing and Bath and Body Soap!
Same guy, different days!
The queen was as long as and as big as my little finger. She was cream colored and about 90% of her was a big abdomen. She couldn't move, so the workers had come to rescue her and had gotten the troops together and they were trying to move her to safety. It was amazing to see the number of termites that were in the colony. They weren't eating the tree roots, but the tree was just a protection for them. Is it any wonder that the buildings here are made of concrete and not wooden structures like at home?
The gardeners moved on to the next tree which they found to also be infested with termites. They found a queen in that colony too, and an equal number of termites. It was an amazing thing to watch.
The kicker was that as they were telling us about them, they said that some people eat the queens. Gaaaagggggggggg! John came to the church to meet us about some business and he told us how as kids they used to put a green stick down into a termite hill and leave it for a minute and then pull it out, and there would be termites attached to it. I asked what they would do with them and he looked at me and said "Sister Jensen we would eat them, they are very delicious!" Later that day, Sister Taylor (wife of the mission president) told us that Elder Brewer ate them when he was serving in Kitale (out in the Kenya sticks). At zone conference, he admitted that it was true and that he liked them! He also likes surfing and Bath and Body Soap!
Same guy, different days!
3 comments:
That makes me miss Elder Brewer. Tell him hi for me and that I use my bath and body works soap every day! :)
That's interesting about the termites. I only wish that you had taken pictures.
I love bath and body works soap too! But I don't eat termites. I am all itchy now-- maybe I have termites on my back. blahhhhh. Who would have thought that a queen termite was as big as a pinky finger? Gross.
Brewer is a crack-up. He was probably lying about it.
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