When you think of insects that live in organized groups you probably think of ants and bees. Both groups live in established colonies that are complex in nature and include workers to keep the habitats thriving. The queen is of the greatest importance because her job is to reproduce and produce the offspring that ensure the survival of the colony. Did you know that a termite colony also has a queen?
Just like bees, termites are incredibly social and will organize themselves in groups that can consist of thousands. The queen of course is responsible for many of the integral functions within the termite colony and plays one of the most important roles to insure the health, wellbeing and survival of the colony. The knowledgeable experts at Guardian Pest & Wildlife Control have provided the following information and facts about termites.
Queen Termite Facts
• Did you know that there is typically more than one queen in a termite colony? The “primary queen” however is the one in charge and is responsible for the majority of the reproduction.
• A termite queen’s abdomen is designed to carry eggs in large numbers. In fact a termite queen can produce over 30,000 termite eggs in a single day.
• The queen uses pheromones to communicate within the colony. A pheromone is a secreted chemical that can trigger a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones can affect the behavior of termites and can be used to trigger alarm, food and sexual responses along with communication.
• Termite queens are very large in size and can often be up to 100-times the size of worker termites. One of the jobs of the worker termites is to take care of the queens basis needs.
• A termite queen that is well cared for by worker termites can live for as many as 50 years provided conditions are optimal.
• When a queen starts a new colony, her job is to lay literally thousands of eggs, and take care of her offspring for the first few months of their lives. Once her offspring becomes old enough, they will be put to work so she can begin the next cycle of egg-laying.
• The primary queen has wings and can fly but the secondary reproductive members do not.
• Much like ants, male members of the termite colony die soon after mating with the queen.
• Some species of termites have queens that can reproduce asexually. Asexual reproduction ensures that the offspring inherit the genes of one parent only.
The secondary queens in the colony will carry the primary queen’s genes to ensure that her legacy continues to live on.
• The termite queen can produce as many as 165,000,000 eggs during her lifetime.
• With the queen termite responsible for reproduction, you might think if you get rid of the queen, the colony will get wiped out. But the problem here is that once the queen termite is dead, the colony can simply make a new queen.
Termite Pest Inspections, Control, Removal & More in Chelsea, Trussville, Pinson, Argo, Odenville, Springville, Moody, Hoover, Homewood, Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills & Birmingham, Alabama
If you have never seen a termite queen, they are easily identified because of their large size and vicinity in the middle of the termite swarm. If you are experiencing a termite problem in or around your home, contact the professionals at Guardian Pest & Wildlife Control to eliminate the termite colony for good.
