Termites are important to Serengeti because they break down dead plant material and for what they do to the soil. Termite mounts stand tall throughout the Serengeti plains and woodlands. Built of mud from deep underground, and held together by termite saliva, the mounts change the soil texture and provide homes and observation points for animals.
Termites are small, clear or cream-colored insects that live predominantly underground, building channels and tunnels that lead them to their woody food. They consume dead wood, grass roots, and a variety of above-ground vegetation during the night. The food is then digested by either protozoans or anaerobic bacteria in their stomachs, and then absorbed by the animal; much like a ruminant herbivore.

Termite society is broken down into three general classes.
The first is the breeding kings and queens. The royal pair live in the base of a termite mound for years, producing all of the other termite classes. Fertile termite young leave the mound on warm nights, often after rain. They fly about trying to find mates and perform a courtship ritual in which they fly hundreds of feet up into the air, circling around each other. Often these flyers can be confused by electric lights, and gather in gigantic swarms around porch lights.
The second Termite class is the workers. The infertile workers are usually eyeless, colorless, and are responsible for the collection of food and the maintenance of the mound.
The third class is the soldier class. These termites are larger, have heavy, well protected heads and large pincers. Their job is to defend the nest from invading ants and other predators.

Termite mounds are built with large vertical shafts that can run several meters into the earth, and provide ventilation for the colony. These shafts also provide homes for a variety of animals, including snakes, mongoose and mice. Smart people do not put their hands down termite holes ..
If you visit Serengeti, you may see wildebeest, topi or predators such as cheetah or lions using termite mounds as look-outs. On the flat plains, even a rise of a few feet gives an impressive view and is well worth the trouble to find either danger or food.
By pulling up soil from deep in the ground, termites change the landscape of Serengeti substantially. Deeper soils are more saline and alkaline than surface soils, so there is a patch of saline soil for several meters around each termite mound. On this saline soil grows salt tolerant species of grasses such as Cynodon Dactylon and Digitaria Macroblephora which do not grow in the surrounding areas. By providing a different habitat for plants, the termite mounds increase the habitat diversity and thus the plant and perhaps the animal diversity.
The major predators of termites are ants and aardwolves. Ants such as Whispering-Ants have specialized on attacking and eating termites. Whispering-Ants live in colonies of only a few hundred individuals and go out each morning to find termites. When the group reaches a termite mound, they conference for a moment, then divide and surround the mound. Finally they close in and grab as many termite workers as they can before the soldier termites can arrive. Whispering-Ant columns can be seen crossing roads or traveling across the plains, each carrying three or four termites high on its head. One should be careful, though, as Whispering-Ants, which make a whispering sound when disturbed have a painful bite.