Nasutitermes walkeri is an Australian termite species particularly common in New South Wales.
Its nests are among the largest arboreal nests built by the Nasutitermesgenus.
This specimen was an active nest (still inhabited by termites) collected from the area of Manly Dam (north of Sydney, Australia). The nest was built on a living Eucalyptus tree, on a fork between two branches at about 2.30 metres of height. The same tree also hosted another nest fromthe same colony on a higher branch about 4 metres from the ground.
The internal structure is characterised by a network of galleries all having similar diameter, delimited by curved surfaces locally interconnected with saddle-shaped junctions. The nest is surrounded by an external crust that at the time of collection was hardand dry.
The videos below show some termites repairing a small hole in the external shell of the nest. The soldiers remain near the entrance while workers repair the breach with their feces and with pellets that they deposit with their mandibules. One of the videos is in real time.
