Cuccko fungus is named
by its similarity to others “cuccko” such as cucckobird, cuccko bees or cuckoo
wasps (Chrysididae). The similarities
are in the behavior of the individual to oviposit in other nest who then
raise the intruder’s offspring as if it were their own (Horn, 1976)
Cuccko fungus also did the same
thing, they mimic the egg of termite, so the termite will take care of it.
Cuccko fungus also called as termite balls since it look like ball present in
termite nest, it is a clear “egg mimicry”. Termite balls is a brown fungal
balls, it is sclerotia, a fungal resting body, for survival during periods
of unfavorable conditions then sprouting becomes fungal colonies when things
get better. This sclerotia belongs to fungus Fibularhizoctonia sp. Which
phylogenetically closest to decay fungi Athelia spp.
Termite
ball has sophisticated mimicry to termite eggs both morphologically and
chemically, so the worker that are blind
can not recognize the ball and the eggs. This fact proved by conducting an
experiment using dummy eggs made of glass beads (Matsuura, 2006). The number of
those balls varied from nest to nest, from a few to over 800, and there could
be way more balls than eggs (Metzner, 2006)
The termite ball keep in sclerotia form due to
inhibition by termite saliva (Thomas, 1987 cit in. Matsuura, 2003),the
objective of this inhibitions is to enhance eggs survival due to bacteriostatic
and fungistatic substance present in sclerotia although termite it self have
ability to protect their eggs by their saliva, but it seems it is a
complementary associations. This inhibition looks like does not happened for
long term, the termite will remove them and let them germinate and grow on
termite excretion in the corner of the nest. So termite balls seems to have
mutualistic rather than parasitic with termite.
Termite ball and termite eggs (Matsuura, 2006)
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