Termites are known to be efficient farmers who farm a kind of fungus in their colonies to digest the wood that they feed. Scientists from the Indian institute of Science, Bangalore and École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie de Montpellier, Montpellier, France, explore whether the termites prefer a certain species of fungus and if they can identify weed fungi and remove them.
The study from IISc found a previously unidentified yeast-like symbiont inside the lac insect Kerria lacca, which gives the insect its distinctive red colour and, may also provide other nutrients in return for shelter.