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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.
[1] The queen, a mated female, is monogamous, and will lay her eggs in spurts followed by periods of inactivity. [8] Egg production in termite queens is positively correlated with the size of the queen who then becomes wingless after her Nuptial flight. [2] Termite queens are able to live for decades with the longest recorded length of 28.5 ...
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 largest of the termites is the African species Macrotermes bellicosus. The queen of this species can attain a length of 10.6 cm (4.2 in) and breadth of 5.5 cm (2.2 in); other adults, however, are about a third of this size.
Mound-building termites are a group of termite species that live in mounds which are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. These termites live in Africa, Australia and South America. The mounds sometimes have a diameter of 30 metres (98 ft). Most of the mounds are in well-drained areas.
A large mound may house up to a million individual termites. Each is the nest of a colony of Amitermes meridionalis and houses the queen, king, reproductives, soldiers and workers. The outer surface of the mound is hard and durable whereas the material separating the chambers and galleries inside is more papery. [ 2 ]
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Macrotermes is a genus of termites belonging to the subfamily Macrotermitinae and widely distributed throughout Africa and South-East Asia.Well-studied species include Macrotermes natalensis [2] and M. bellicosus.