{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.termite","code":"thing-q546583","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q546583/","name":"termite","alternateNames":["subterranean termite","invasive termite"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.LIV"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A social insect of the infraorder Isoptera, now placed within the cockroaches, living in colonies with reproductive, worker and soldier castes and feeding on wood and plant matter digested with the help of gut microbes, in some 3000 species including subterranean termites that nest in soil and attack buildings, mound-building species of the tropics, and invasive termites such as the Formosan subterranean termite; termites are vital decomposers and major structural pests.","purpose":"Let an agent explain termites and their biology, relay colony organisation, ecology and pest management from entomological and pest control sources, describe invasive species, and distinguish termites from ants, wood-boring beetles and the white ant misnomer.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Eusocial castes","Wood digestion with symbionts","Mound and nest building","Structural pest"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What termites are.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and castes.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What are termites, how are colonies organised, and how do they differ from ants?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about biology, ecology, a species or a pest problem?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"kinds","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","findings":[{"id":"kinds-finding","name":"Kinds","description":"Kinds.","questions":[{"text":"What are subterranean, drywood, dampwood, mound-building and invasive termites?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific kind?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"biology","name":"Biology","description":"Biology.","layers":[{"id":"digestion","name":"Digestion","description":"Wood digestion.","findings":[{"id":"digestion-finding","name":"Digestion","description":"Digestion.","questions":[{"text":"How do termites digest cellulose with gut microbes and fungus gardens?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"ecology","name":"Ecology","description":"Ecology.","findings":[{"id":"ecology-finding","name":"Ecology","description":"Ecology.","questions":[{"text":"What roles do termites play in decomposition, soils and ecosystems?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"pests","name":"Pests","description":"Pest management.","layers":[{"id":"damage","name":"Damage","description":"Damage and detection.","findings":[{"id":"damage-finding","name":"Damage","description":"Damage.","questions":[{"text":"How do termites damage buildings, and how are infestations detected?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits termite inspection?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"control","name":"Control","description":"Control.","findings":[{"id":"control-finding","name":"Control","description":"Control.","questions":[{"text":"How are termites controlled through barriers, baits and treatments, as regulators and industry describe?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits termite control?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Invasion and culture.","layers":[{"id":"invasive","name":"Invasive","description":"Invasive termites.","findings":[{"id":"invasive-finding","name":"Invasive","description":"Invasive.","questions":[{"text":"Which termites are invasive, and how do biosecurity systems respond?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Formosan subterranean termite?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Culture and science.","findings":[{"id":"culture-finding","name":"Culture","description":"Culture.","questions":[{"text":"How have termite mounds inspired architecture, and how are termites used as food?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits biomimicry?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Identify termites and the signs of infestation and report them to the owner.","Explain colony castes and their ecological role.","Recommend that owners consult licensed pest controllers."],"mustNot":["Apply termiticides without a licence or outside label use.","Assure a buyer that a building is free of termites without an inspection.","Destroy termite mounds in protected or ecologically sensitive areas."],"requiresHuman":["Treating a building or soil with pesticides."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Termites recycle wood and enrich soils; they are pests only in some places.","Termiticides can harm people, pets and water."],"affectedParties":["Homeowners and buyers","Households exposed to treatments","Ecosystems"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns wild colonies; building owners answer for treatment on their property.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q1375535","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"social insect","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Blattodea","type":"related","note":"with the cockroaches"},{"target":"ant","type":"related","note":"a hymenopteran"},{"target":"pest control","type":"related","note":"in buildings"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.termite","Wikidata: Q546583 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q546583)","infraorder: Isoptera"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["species: about 3000 count","largest mounds: over 8 m - Macrotermes","US damage: billions of USD per year note - estimates","classification: Blattodea, Isoptera note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Social insect eating wood","Subterranean termites, mound builders, invasive termites such as the Formosan termite","Ants have elbowed antennae and a narrow waist; beetles bore as larvae; termites are not true ants","Pale soft-bodied insects with straight antennae, living in colonies."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain biology and castes","relay ecology and pest management","describe invasive species","distinguish from other insects"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Structural damage to buildings","Confusing termites with ants","Misuse of pesticides"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Building codes on termite protection","Pesticide regulations for termiticides","Biosecurity rules on invasive termites"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; an insect group.","subterranean termites","drywood termites","dampwood termites","mound-building and fungus-growing termites","invasive termites such as Coptotermes formosanus","primitive termites such as Mastotermes"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q546583: termite","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q546583","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Termite","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should subterranean termite and Formosan termite be separate primary entries?","How should entomological sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming a nesting type and an invasion status; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q546583/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q546583/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T13:26:56Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:00+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}