The change of mound structure of the fungus growing termite, Macrotermes gilvus, which has no clear air passage system in the mound, was examined in relation to the mound growth in a rubber plantation of southern Thailand. The nest proper consisted of the hive with a royal chamber and nursery, and diffused chambers with fungus combs. The location of the hive became higher with the growth of the mound. Therefore, colonies with a very large mound utilize only the upper mound part and this may be due to the lack of air passage systems in this species. A colony with a very large mound is not in reality commensurately large in colony size and this may be the reason why the density of huge mounds of M. gilvus in Thailand is much higher than that of Macrotermes in Africa.

The termite Macrotermes herus builds domed earth mounds with no external openings. The internal structure is described here. There is no specialized ventilation system in the mound, unlike those of other Macrotermes species.

The termite Macrotermes michaelseni (Sjöstedt) builds conical earth mounds with no external openings. The structure of the nests is described. The fungus combs and the nursery are in separate parts of a single hive chamber, and thus occupy the same air space. A closed system of inter-connected passages in the mound facilitates loss of metabolic heat to the atmosphere.

The termite Macrotermes subhyalinus (Rambur) builds large earthen mounds of many different types, two of which are described in detail here. As far as is known at present, the two types occur in different areas. The main difference is in the ventilation system. In one, the Bissel type, there are many holes connected up inside the mound in such a way that external air is drawn through the passages and cools the interior of the mound. The other, the Marigat type, has only one large opening raised to a considerable height above the ground so that air is drawn out at the top, and drawn in from the surrounding soil through underground foraging passages.