section_path: Domestication by insects/Termites
section_name: Termites
paragraph_text: Termites
  
  Termites eat decaying plant material such as wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. Many species of termite have a specialized midgut with enzymes able to break down cellulose fiber. Termites rely primarily upon a symbiotic microbial community that includes bacteria, flagellate protists such as metamonads and hypermastigids. This community provides the enzymes that digest the cellulose, allowing the insects to absorb the end products for their own use.