The Amazon Rainforest hosts about 240 species of termites. The Portuguese word is térmitas. Indigenous people call them cupins. The Latin derivative means wood-eating worm. These blind cousins of cockroaches feed on cellulose from dead plant material and are an essential part of the ecosystem. They live in a complex caste system similar to bees with a king and queen, several soldiers and predominately workers. Termites create three types of nests. Some are completely underground while others protrude. This is an arboreal nest attached to a tree.