Cultural Notes
Las termitas – short version
Termites
- Remember, expect this to be challenging.
- First, read the English version.
- Next, read the Spanish version.
- Click the control to hear the audio.
- Listen several times, following along on the transcript.
- Finally, listen without looking at the transcript.
- See how many words and phrases you can pick out.
- Then try the long version.
Short Version
Termites
One day we were walking along a country road in Nayarit, Mexico, looking for birds. Looking around, I noticed some interesting growths in some of the trees. I asked the guide what they were and he said they were termite nests. He said there are nearly 3000 types and they represent 25% of the insect population on earth. The queen may lay 7,000,000 eggs in her 20 year lifetime. I asked him how there could be any trees left with so many termites. He said that without termites the earth would be covered with rotting wood to a depth of 20 feet. He also told me a bird called the orange-fronted parakeet nests inside the termite nest because the warm stable temperatures helps the eggs to hatch 5 days sooner.
Las Termitas
Un día íbamos por un camino campestre de Nayarit, México, buscando aves. Mirando a mi alrededor, noté bultos interesantes en algunos árboles. Le pregunté al guía lo que eran, y me dijo que eran nidos de termitas. Dijo que hay unos 3000 tipos de ellas y que representan 25% de la población de insectos de la tierra. La reina puede poner hasta 7 millones de huevos en sus 20 años de vida. Le pregunté cómo es que quedan árboles con tantas termitas. Me contestó que sin termitas la tierra estaría cubierta de hasta 6 metros de madera podrida. También me dijo que un pájaro llamado el periquito de pecho anaranjado anida dentro del nido de las termitas porque las temperaturas cálidas y estables ayudan a los huevos a empollar 5 días más temprano.
