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The king grows only slightly larger after initial mating and continues to mate with the queen for life (a termite queen can live between 30 and 50 years); this is very different from ant colonies, in which a queen mates once with the males and stores the gametes for life, as the male ants die shortly after mating.
The Macrotermitinae, the fungus-growing termites, constitute a subfamily of the family Termitidae that is only found within the Old World tropics.. This subfamily consists of 12 genera and about 350 species and are distinguished by the fact that they cultivate fungi inside their nests to feed the members of the colony.
The termites visibly eroded the poles' base and structural strength, causing 53% of infested poles to tilt. [4] Some species of Macrotermes are eaten by humans in Africa. Alates are eaten the most, but workers and soldiers are also eaten and they are available throughout the year, unlike alates.
All the fungus-growing termite colonies are similar caste systems. Each caste plays a different role in the colony, but it is not yet known how caste selection occurs. The primary reproductive caste or royal pair is made up of a king and a queen. The winged alates make up the secondary reproductive caste. Sterile castes do not possess any ...
Termites are pale-coloured, soft-bodied eusocial insects that live in colonies, whereas cockroaches are darker-coloured (often brown), sclerotized, segmented insects. Within the colony, termites have a caste system, with a pair of mature reproductives, the king and the queen, and numerous sterile workers and soldiers.
Macrotermes bellicosus is a species of Macrotermes.The queens are the largest amongst known termites, measuring about 4.2 inches (110 mm) long when physogastric. The workers average 0.14 in (3.6 mm) in length and soldiers are slightly larger.
The colony consists of several different castes; reproductives including a queen, king and alates (unmated winged termites); soldiers; and pseudergates (false workers). The king and queen have dark brown, chitinous cuticles but other members of the colony have soft bodies. The soldiers are about 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.20 in) long with colourless ...
Physogastrism or physogastry is a characteristic of certain arthropods (mostly insects and mites), where the abdomen is greatly enlarged and membranous. The most common examples are the "queens" of certain species of eusocial insects such as termites, bees and ants, in which the abdomen swells in order to hold enlarged ovaries, thus increasing fecundity.