Editing Termite (section)

===Parasites, pathogens, and viruses===
Termites are less likely to be attacked by parasites than bees, wasps and ants, as they are usually well protected in their mounds.{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |p=61}}{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |p=75}} Nevertheless, termites are infected by a variety of parasites. Some of these include dipteran flies,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wilson |first1=E.O. |title=The Insect Societies |date=1971 |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |isbn=978-0-674-45495-8 |page=398 |edition=5th |volume=76}}</ref> ''[[Pyemotes]]'' mites, and a large number of [[nematode]] parasites. Most nematode parasites are in the order [[Rhabditida]];{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |p=59}} others are in the genus ''[[Mermis]]'', ''[[Diplogaster aerivora]]'' and ''[[Heterakis gallinarum |Harteria gallinarum]]''.{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |pp=301–302}} Under imminent threat of an attack by parasites, a colony may migrate to a new location.{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |p=19}} Certain fungal pathogens such as ''[[Aspergillus nomius]]'' and ''[[Metarhizium anisopliae]]'' are, however, major threats to a termite colony as they are not host-specific and may infect large portions of the colony;<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Weiser |first1=J. |last2=Hrdy |first2=I. |title=Pyemotes – mites as parasites of termites |journal=Zeitschrift für Angewandte Entomologie |date=2009 |volume=51 |issue=1–4 |pages=94–97 |doi=10.1111/j.1439-0418.1962.tb04062.x}}</ref><ref name=resource>{{cite journal |last1=Chouvenc |first1=T. |last2=Efstathion |first2=C.A. |last3=Elliott |first3=M.L. |last4=Su |first4=N.Y. |title=Resource competition between two fungal parasites in subterranean termites. |journal=Die Naturwissenschaften |date=2012 |volume=99 |issue=11 |pages=949–58 |doi=10.1007/s00114-012-0977-2 |pmid=23086391 |bibcode = 2012NW.....99..949C |s2cid=16393629}}</ref> transmission usually occurs via direct physical contact.{{sfn |Schmid-Hempel |1998 |pp=38, 102}} ''M.&nbsp;anisopliae'' is known to weaken the termite immune system. Infection with ''A.&nbsp;nomius'' only occurs when a colony is under great stress. Over 34 fungal species are known to live as parasites on the exoskeleton of termites, with many being host-specific and only causing indirect harm to their host.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wilson |first1=Megan |last2=Barden |first2=Phillip |last3=Ware |first3=Jessica |title=A Review of Ectoparasitic Fungi Associated With Termites |journal=Annals of the Entomological Society of America |date=2021-04-30 |volume=114 |issue=4 |pages=373–396 |doi=10.1093/aesa/saab001 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Termites are infected by viruses including [[Entomopoxvirinae]] and the [[Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chouvenc |first1=T. |last2=Mullins |first2=A.J. |last3=Efstathion |first3=C.A. |last4=Su |first4=N.-Y. |title=Virus-like symptoms in a termite (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae) field colony |journal=Florida Entomologist |date=2013 |volume=96 |issue=4 |pages=1612–1614 |doi=10.1653/024.096.0450 |s2cid=73570814 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Al Fazairy |first1=A.A. |last2=Hassan |first2=F.A. |title=Infection of Termites by ''Spodoptera littoralis'' Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus |journal=International Journal of Tropical Insect Science |date=2011 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=37–39 |doi=10.1017/S1742758400009991 |s2cid=84743428}}</ref>