Fossil Termites

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The unusual discovery of the most ancient termite nest ever found sheds light not only on termites but also on their social behavior. The nest dates back to the time of the dinosaurs.

The nest was discovered in fossilized wood from the Big Bend National Park in Texas. A paleontologist examining the wood noticed small grain like particles in the wood. He decided that the grains must be insect eggs. Later, other scientists examined the grains under a microscope and found that they were hexagonal in shape. That distinctive shape told them that the grains were termite droppings. Termites are the only insect that makes hexagonal droppings. And these droppings were identical to those made by modern termites. With this discovery, the holes in the fossilized wood suddenly made sense.

The wood had been tunneled out in the same way modern termites tunnel wood. The nest was in the center of the wood, just as modern termites build their nests. These ancient termites had placed their droppings around the edge of the nest. Modern termites do the same thing to plug any air leaks and prevent drafts. In short, every evidence says that termites from the time of the dinosaurs were built just like modern termites, and they behaved in the same way as modern termites.

That there was no evidence of any termite evolution in this nest agrees perfectly with the Bible's claim that all things reproduce "after their kind."