Termites are extremely smart insects. Their colonies are real societies with hierarchy and social roles. Every termite caste is responsible for a particular function.
A colony is ruled by a queen, just like a real monarchy. She is considered the superior leader, responsible for all the colony members.
The queen’s primary function is egg-laying. Besides that, she also monitors the functioning of other termites and gives them jobs to do. We are going to see what the royal lady termite looks like and what she does in her colony, which is considered more important and also focus on ways of finding and killing the termite lady.
How To Become A Termite Queen?
The moment when a termite king and a queen decide to shed wings and start a family, then a new colony begins. Before that, young reproductive termites were flying altogether in a swarm. After the swarm breaks up, a termite couple settles together in a place where there is enough wood, water, and other necessities.
Firstly, the royal lady termite may lay not so many eggs. And in the first place, only the royal lady termite and the king nurture the babies. Then the colony becomes more organized.
They usually a lot of time left because queens typically live from 20 to 50 years. Soon after, the colony possesses enough workers to do the jobs and take care of the babies and the queen of termite herself. Therefore, starting from this time, the royal lady termite can lay a vast number of eggs.
As time goes on, the royal lady termite becomes much larger and can produce a significant number of wood ants. Some of the eggs laid by the queen can become queens, and not soldiers or workers due to their potentials. So they live in the colony, and when the termite queen dies, they take her place. It is considered an excellent quality for termite colonies, and nobody dies in it.
The usual functions continue, and without requiring the need to start a new colony. More than that, there can be more than one queen in numerous colonies.
The Appearance Of Termite Queen
The termite queens are female insects that are large compared to other colony members. The Queen’s abdomen is one of the reasons why she is big, as she should be able to lay a great number of eggs. Her length is about 10 cm. She possesses a big white abdomen. To an extent, the abdomen is a hundred times bigger than a typical termite, but the head and leg remain the same size.
As a matter of fact, you may think that such a royal lady termite should look weird or odd to other wood ants. But due to being blind and staying in a dark place, they are unable to see her properly.
But the queen has not always been like that all the time. The kings and queens are the same sizes during the swarming time. When they shed their wings and settle down, the royal lady termite starts to increase in size. The termite queens become larger at the end. Subterranean wood ants can significantly change in color from pale yellow-brown to black.
Photos Of Termite Queen
What does the termite queens look like? Let’s see the royal lady termite photo:
Egg Laying By Termite Queen
Immediately the royal lady termite and the king start their new colony, and the royal lady termite begins laying many eggs within this time. When she is matured enough, she can lay hundreds and even thousands of eggs per day.
Termites are different from ants in need of periodical mating. So, fertilizing the queen is the main and only function of the king.
Lifespan Of The Termite Queen
Are you talking about the lifespan of termite queens? The royal termite couple lives in a particular cell called the Royal chamber. It is usually located in the very center of the nest. The cell has thick walls and a significant number of passages coming out. The workers use the outlets to go in and out and care for the royal lady termite. They also feed her and carry the laid eggs off to the nurseries. Many workers lick the queen to maintain delicate pheromone balance in the whole colony.
The workers get a reward for their hard work by getting juice. The royal lady termite discharges this juice from her behind. It can arouse the workers to do various jobs in the colony next time.
The queen and king live and rule in the colony with the help of pheromone signals. A mature royal lady termite cannot walk because while she lies on her stomach, her legs can’t even reach the ground. If she needs to go anywhere for some reason, the worker wood ants species are going to carry or roll her to the place. Dozens and dozens of workers are required to move her now due to her massive size.
Interesting Facts About Termite Queen
Though this hasn’t been proved yet, there is such a version whereby scientists think the royal lady termite with her progeny can teleport herself to a safe place in the case of danger.
Ivan T. Sanderson, An American researcher studying animals and their behavior, notes in his book “Paranormal ants Atta and teleporting Queen” that wood ants, as well as ants, know about a way of teleportation of the colony’s most valuable individuals. The scientist jokingly said that if people could get this knowledge from tiny wood ants, then just in about two years, we would be able to reach the stars.
We are humanizing the emphasis while talking about termite society. Lots of people are curious about whether termites treat their queens as bosses and to know if they aren’t angry or jealous of her position? Actually no. No pessimism takes place, wood ants just carry on with their duties and share or accept the roles they were born with.
How To Find Or Spot The Termite Queen?
If your decision is to get rid of the termite colony yourself and find and kill the royal lady termite, these are handy tips for you to follow.
- You need sturdy clothes. Your body should be covered appropriately because you will meet a significant number of other wood ants species, and they may probably succeed in biting you.
- Worker termites will share and show you the way. When you are ready and well-equipped, look for the nest.
- If the termite species nest is in the timber of a building, please do not go further. In this case, only a specialist can help because if you try to find the royal lady termite in this structure, the building will be severely damaged, and she will hide and survive for long years.
- But if the insect species nest is in the ground, you may dig it and solve the problem. If it is in a tree or stump, cut down the center of the wood. You need to work fast because the moment these species of termites feel danger, they may move their queen not so long.
So you need to figure it out a lot. Sometimes, nests are several feet underground. What does a royal lady termite look like? Carefully look for a slow termite with the white and large abdomen. That’s the queen. Pick her up and end up with the colony of destroying creatures.
How To kill a Termite Queen?
A termite colony without a queen won’t survive. If their termite queen dies, leaving no insects that can lay eggs and control the population for a long time, all the eggs and colony members will die. So, to successfully get rid of a termite colony, killing the queen is a proper way out.
How to kill the queen termite? It is challenging to kill the queen, even with such new methods as using ants for termite control. Getting to the colony’s reproductive part is nearly impossible; majorly, it is always guarded by soldier wood ants. And even if you successfully set or share a trap, the royal lady termite may never enter it.
One of the best ways to kill the queen is with poison. She doesn’t feed herself; workers bring her food and taste it before she is allowed to eat it. If the royal lady termite eats poisoned food, she will die. But the truth is that a worker will probably try this food first and die himself that’s the difficulty.
Fumigation, coupled with the help of toxic fumes, helps to kill all the termites, including the royal lady termite. But this method is only effective for dry wood termites.
Conclusion
The termite queens are great monarch in her colony. Not only does she rule other termites, but she also produces a lot of new members for the society. The queen is the real god for the termites, but she is the cause of extreme damage for people.
