I guess 3. Oh, wow, 2 in 1. Okay fine! This single, determined termite braves countless dangers to participate in the only flight of its life.
She survives attack by predators even as she alights, flips off her wings, secretes pheromones, and attracts a mate. The pair stumble through the danger zone into a rotting tree stump. It's the perfect first home — but they're not alone.
Unlike most termite species,
conehead termite colonies can have multiple queens and kings. Several other termites in this pair are ready to reproduce. Together they dig a chamber in the stump, seal the entrance and get busy.
When this results in offspring, they bear little resemblance to their parents. They are small, wingless, eyeless, and sterile. Some of these, soldiers have the species' trademark distinctive head shape—the function of which will be revealed shortly.
They set out to search for dead wood,
laying a pheromone trail that the rest of the brood, the workers of the colony, follow and reinforce as they obtain food. As termites collect and decompose plant debris, they return essential nutrients to the soil, allowing more plants to thrive.
Gradually, the workers expand the central chamber of the termite colony as they rear and feed the royal family and visiting brood. The smallest termites cannot yet feed on wood freely.
So, the workers process it and gift it to the youngsters through their saliva and mainly by putting it in their mouths. With workers managing groceries, construction, and childcare, the royal family is fully committed to reproduction.
Monarchs provide sperm as needed,
and queens undergo radical transformations. Their stomachs develop efficient egg-laying machinery and expand dramatically. Each queen can produce hundreds of eggs per day. Meanwhile, a delegation of workers retrieves and neatly stacks them.
The colony grows rapidly.
And once its population is large enough, the workers build a system of tunnels stretching more than 100 meters across the ground, along fallen logs, and up into the crowns of trees.
These tunnels provide shelter for termites as they travel to and from feeding sites around the clock. And finally, they form a distinctive central nest.
Using partially digested plant material,
soil and poop, they build a large egg-shaped structure, complete with numerous passages, chambers and ventilation holes. Inside, they form a royal cell reinforced with extra thick walls.
It didn't take long for this architectural wonder to attract admirers: an anteater. She swipes towards the nest and sticks her long tongue inside. Those who get stuck in the tongue spine and sticky saliva die. But the termite soldiers strike back.
They are small and blind but their heads act like squirt guns. They maintain the anteater's position using chemical signals, clenching their powerful muscles and shooting a sticky spray from their heads. After a minute, the anteater stops feeding, scrapes off the goo, and closes the loops.
The nest suffered some damage,
but the royal family remained undeterred, hatching the eggs in their stronghold. As the colony matures, some of the young become reproductive.
Most fly to establish new colonies—one lands on a fallen tree, another in a crack in a house, and another climbs onto a ship's crate. But some will move to nearby sites and become kings of the colony's satellite nests.
With one of the longest lifespans of insects, a termite queen's reign can last more than 20 years. The original queen and king eventually die, but while they are gone, many satellite nests are thriving.
Their reproductive offspring inherit the throne, meaning their colony can last for decades to come.
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