At certain times of year, under certain conditions when the humidity outside the mound is the same as the humidity inside the
mound, termites release alates, winged males and females with fully developed reproductive organs, to head off to found new
colonies. These termites are very vulnerable, with few defences, and to release them requires the mound to be opened up to the
outside, which is why there are so many soldier termites standing about looking authoritative.

This exodus of termites is a boon for lizards, birds, and predatory invertebrates and this particular event coincided with blind snakes
appearing in much larger numbers in my wildlife surveys.