Bonaire knows one Iguana species, namely the Green Iguana (or Common Iguana) or Yuana as in papiamentu. Of the reptiles this is the most impressive animal one can encounter on Bonaire. Fully grown a male may reach two meters in lenght (6.5 feet), including its tail and weighing up to five kilograms (11 pounds). Their tail makes up half of there body length. Adult Iguana’s have agrey-green colour while the young are bright green. They will live for 10-15 years

In spite of there size they can move very quickly. When they are discovered they initially trust in their distinctive camouflage. As soon as they know they are discovered however, they will drop to the ground and run away as fast as they can. Like other lizards, they can detach there tail when caught and there will grow a new tail back. They are also great swimmers!

The Iguana is a herbivore, meaning it eats no meat but eats only leaves, new shoots, flowers and fruits. They get their water from catching rain and condensation on the flowers and leaves of the trees, but most come from their food. Although they sometimes eat an unsuspecting insect that has been hiding in a flower, they are no omnivores. The jaw of the Iguana is very strong and filled with razor sharp teeth.

Because the Iguana is a reptile, and therefore a cold blooded animal, it needs the sun’s heat to warm up. After the sunrise, the iguanas begin to move from their sleeping places to a place where they can soak up the sun’s heat. Shortly after sunrise, they are warm enough to move around and look for food. After searching and eating food, they need to move to another place to catch the sun. They must be warm enough to digest the food they have eaten. Their days are filled with periods of activity and long periods of rest.

 The Iguana is on Bonaire’s list of protected animals and plants.           

Termites (Cryptotermes cylindroceps) or Komehein in papiamentu are also known as white ants. They are indeed very reminiscent of ants. Yet they are by no means related to them, even though the reproductive cycle is in some ways similar to that of most ant species. Termites live in highly specialized colonies and make giant nest mounds. All activities of the pale, blind termites are devoted 24 hours a day to the well-being and preservation of the termite colony, which can consist of millions of termites. Their society is so complex that many termites never see the light of day. The queen can reach the age of 20 years, unlike the workers who ‘only’ do their hard work for 2 to 3 years. The termite colony’s armored and venomous soldiers have enormous jaws.

Taxonomic classification of termites (Isoptera)
Termites belong to the Arthropoda (arthropod) tribe, the Insecta (insects) class, the Isoptera (termites), and the Termitidae family, one of seven families with eight subfamilies and 2300 species. Most species live in Africa and Asia. The nests can consist of millions of termites and are recognizable by their often-enormous nest mounds above ground, made of earth, saliva and feces. Termites have been around for 65 million years and are related to the cockroach (higher taxon).

Characteristics of termites
Termites are pale white, almost colorless insects. However, the external differences between the social classes can be great. The social structure of a termite colony consists of a type of caste system, in which the queen is the hub of the colony and can grow from five to over ten centimeters long, depending on the species. Future queens and kings (a number of females and males annually) begin their lives as winged termites. The males are short-lived and die after mating. In addition, there are the soldiers and workers, who can be either male or female. The length of these groups varies from 0.3 to 2 centimeters. Termites are basically nocturnal animals but can also be visibly active during the day.

Eyes, wings and feelers
Termites have six legs, like all insects. Most termite species are blind, although not all tropical species. The fertile termites also have well-developed eyes. The wings are distinctively different from the ant. The termite’s four wings are the same size as the body, unlike ants. Termites antennae are straight (the ants has curved antennae) ​​and blunt. The armored soldiers’ heads are proportionately larger than those of the workers. This also applies to the scissors (jaws).

Color and mouth parts
The workers are generally pale to colorless and translucent. The winged, fertile termites, on the other hand, are black to dark brown. The soldiers, who have no wings, look brownish. They are also equipped with larger jaws (scissors), which in many cases have the form of a saber and are equipped with teeth and barbs. The mouthparts are caustic, chewing. However, there are differences depending on the species.

Communication
Most termite species are blind. However, they have strong social characteristics, just like bees, ants and wasps. Termites communicate using pheromones. The workers and soldiers, for example, recognize their queen by a certain fragrance that only the royals carry with them. The queen also secretes special chemicals that control the growth of the offspring, which ultimately determines the caste to which the individual termites will belong. The workers who care for the larvae absorb these substances and feed them to them with food. Each colony has specific pheromones that distinguish it from others and from which the termites recognize each other.

Lifestyle
2300 termite species are known and described. Most of them live in the subtropics and tropics in often giant nests of millions of specimens, depending on the species. Each termite belongs to a social group or “caste”. The queen is central to this social structure. Her job is to lay eggs. Nest construction involves a complex social event that revolves around the queen and the larvae. An army of soldiers and workers is at her disposal. The hierarchy is very tight.

Monogamous
Termites are monogamous. The queen regularly mates with the king, who lives in her presence. Naturally, the colony must be defended from natural enemies and protected from other calamities. The soldiers are very well equipped for this. The workers are the largest caste. They maintain the nest, expand it, look for food and take care of the larvae. Workers do not live older than 3 years on average, while a queen can live up to 20 years. Depending on the species, these insects live in hollow tree trunks or in a labyrinth of underground passages. The nest hills are striking.

Nutrition
The food requirement of termites also depends on the species. The termites on Bonaire live off dead wood, they breakdown dead wood so it can be reused in the ecosystem. The wood they consume consists largely of the hard-to-digest cellulose. However, the termite’s gastrointestinal tract contains bacteria that can partially convert the cellulose into more digestible substances.

‘Mold gardens’
The termites maintain so-called ‘fungal gardens’ to digest the remaining cellulose. The termites deposit their feces in special rooms. Feces on which fungi grow over time. Fungi that are eaten by the termite and that break down the remaining cellulose in the gastrointestinal tract and also serve as food. It is therefore a kind of feeding cycle.

Natural enemies of termites
Many animals and insects live on termites, ranging from centipedes to ants, spiders and lizards. They simply invade the termite nest and feast on what they encounter. Termite soldiers specialize in repelling these enemies. With their scissors on the relatively large head, they attack the invaders relentlessly. Nevertheless, things often go wrong and, for example, an ant attack can kill a complete termite colony.

Nest mounds
Usually a nest mound consists of an underground and above-ground part. The part that protrudes above the ground contains a lot of air channels. Numerous ‘fungal gardens’ have also been created.

Nests
The termites keep their nests cool by keeping the outer wall wet with water, depending on the weather conditions. Water that they bring up from deep through small shafts and tunnels. The above-ground part of the nest is therefore often intended to regulate the nest temperature. The outer walls are made of soil, saliva and feces.

Reproduction
Possible future queens and kings periodically fly out of the nest, forming large swarms in the air. Because their wings are not really suitable for this, they only cover a short distance. Eventually they fall back to the ground, lose their wings and crawl looking for a partner, where the queen secretes fragrances (pheromones) to attract a male. The pairs that form is monogamous. The queen and king stay together all their lives, like a royal couple.

Breeding rooms
Then they make a nest room and the queen will lay eggs. Thus, a new termite colony is created. The less fortunate winged royals are eaten on the ground by spiders, ants and reptiles. The workers emerge from the first larvae, both males and females. This generation takes care of the next generation. As the queen grows older, her abdomen grows, and she can eventually lay 30,000 eggs a day. In the initial phase, however, no more than 10,000 eggs. In the nest it is a coming and going of workers who bring the eggs to incubators. They also transport the queen to another room as soon as the nesting room becomes too small for her.

Threats
Termites are among the most common insects, the evolution of which began 65 million years ago. Termites are not an endangered species, although on Bonaire the habitat is threatened through development of wilderness to residential area. But an even greater danger for the termites is the destroying of their nest mounds and therewith the killing of the termites by misinformed people who think that termites are a danger to the healthy trees.

The Spaniards introduced goats to Bonaire in 1527. Livestock farming in the Caribbean Netherlands has always been extensive. During the 18th and 19th centuries, various measures were promulgated to protect forest stands and meadows against erosion and overgrazing (Van Grol, 1942; Westermann and Zonneveld, 1956) but these measures were never enforced and only concerned the domain area (land owned by the island government) but not the large privately owned plantations (De Freitas et al., 2005).

A total of approximately 32,200 goats roaming free on Bonaire of which 60% are kunuku goats and 40% without an owner. Based on results in comparable Curaçao, it appears that livestock densities of 1 goat per 10 hectares (24,71 acres) allow rapid ecological recovery, including the recovery of many rare species. On Bonaire there are more than 14 goats per 10 hectares (24,71 acres). This is more than 14 times higher.
Goats are among the most flexible of livestock and can adapt to practically anything. Goat populations can grow quickly. For the average goat from Bonaire, when using the theoretical approach by Caughley and Krebs (1983) of a natural growth rate of 0.38, or 31% population growth per year. This means that more than 31% catch per year is at least needed to keep the population stable, then there is still no case of a decrease (Debrot, 2016).

On Bonaire, the aridest of the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands, the situation with roaming cattle is the most acute and there are many tree species that can no longer regenerate because the seedlings do not survive the grazing pressure. Many native species on Bonaire are probably already extinct, but many others will follow in the coming decades if measures are not taken (Lo Fo Wong and De Jongh, 1994; Proosdij, 2001; Freitas et al., 2005). While the problem has long been recognized (Anonymous 1985, 1989, 2006, 2009), few measures have actually been taken so far. Of particular concern is how stray goats and donkeys strip the bark of the columnar cacti that is leading to the death of these all-important trees. Cacti bloom and give fruit in the dry season when deciduous trees are usually bare and are therefore an essential food source for the fauna during the dry season (Petit, 1997).
A new form of livestock farming is therefore recommended not only to offer real opportunities to the sector but also to reduce the negative environmental and economic consequences of the current system.

Reference:
Populatie schatting geiten op Bonaire, IMARES Aug 2015,
Staat van de natuur van Caribisch Nederland 2017 Wageningen Marine Research rapport C086/17

In progress, it will be finished at the end of December.

“It’s hard to miss the Kibrahacha with its brilliant yellow flowers as it appears in full bloom, by magic one day. Then a few days later, it flutters silently, carpeting the ground, in ones or twos, like flakes of snow.”

 The Yellow Poui (Tabebuia billbergii) or Kibrahacha in papiamentu, is one of the most spectacular trees of our island.The tree grows to a height of seventy or eighty feet and it is very resistant to termites. Each trumpet-shaped flower leaf is palmately compound and comprises five to seven leaflets. The leaves shed early in dry season and new foliage is not produced for three or four months.  Flowering takes place in April or May, after months without any rain, the first showers of the short rainy season fall, this tree envelops itself within three days in a shroud of bright yellow flowers. The bloom does not last long though; after three days the flowers drop off and only then the tree starts growing leaves.

This kind of strategy is found in more plants: if the circumstances are unfavorable (drought) the plant makes seeds as soon as the opportunity (in this case the first showers) present itself, in this way assuring reproduction. After the flowering the tree forms long, thin pods full of flat, light seeds which are blown away by the wind.

The Papiamentu name “Kibrahacha” has its origin in the very hard wood of this tree. The wood is so hard that the ax (hacha) will break (kibra) on it.