termite queen
Egg-laying wood-dweller
The termite queen is the reproductive female at the center of a termite colony.
She can live for decades, growing to enormous size—her abdomen swelling to produce thousands of eggs daily.
The queen and her mate (the king) are tended constantly by workers.
In some species, the queen becomes so large she cannot move and must be fed by attendants.
- colonyDependent territorial settlement
- eggsReproductive cells in shells
- moundHeaped earth formation
- workersPeople doing jobs
- larvaeImmature metamorphosing creatures
royal · fertile · swarm · nest · abdomen · chamber · underground · soldiers · pheromones · tunnels · mud tubes · wingless · brood · insect · fungus · wood · decay · enormous