Conehead Egg Stacks And Anteater Attacks – The Reign Of A Termite Queen

The Intriguing Life Cycle of Conehead Termites

Imagine tens of thousands of conehead termites swarming in the Panamanian air, each one embarking on the only flight of their lifetime. This spectacle is not for the faint-hearted, as these termites face numerous threats during their journey. Despite the dangers, these determined creatures are driven by a powerful instinct to reproduce and ensure the survival of their species.

The Flight of a Lifetime

Each termite bravely navigates through a barrage of predators, lands safely, and sheds its wings. They then secrete pheromones to attract a mate. Once paired, the couple quickly retreats into the safety of a rotting tree stump, their first home. But they are not alone. Unlike most termite species, conehead termite colonies can house multiple queens and kings, and our pair is soon joined by other termites ready to reproduce.

Building a Colony

Working together, they excavate a chamber in the stump, seal the entrance, and start their family. The offspring that hatch bear little resemblance to their parents. They are smaller, wingless, eyeless, and sterile. Some of them, the soldiers, possess the species’ trademark conspicuously shaped heads. These soldiers set out to scout for dead wood, laying pheromone trails for the rest of the offspring, the colony’s workers, to follow and reinforce as they retrieve food.

The Role of Termites in the Ecosystem

As termites collect and decompose plant debris, they return essential nutrients to the soil, promoting the growth of more vegetation. Gradually, worker termites expand the colony’s central chamber as they groom and feed the royals and the upcoming broods. The tiniest termites can’t yet eat wood independently, so the workers process it and gift it to the youngsters through their saliva and by regurgitating it into their mouths.

The Royals and Reproduction

With the workers managing groceries, construction, and childcare, the royals fully commit themselves to reproduction. The kings provide sperm on an as-needed basis, and the queens undergo radical transformations. Their abdomens develop efficient egg-laying machinery and extend dramatically. Each queen may produce hundreds of eggs a day. Meanwhile, a worker entourage retrieves and neatly stacks them into piles.

Building a Fortress

The colony grows quickly. Once its population is big enough, workers construct a system of tunnels stretching over 100 meters across the terrain, along fallen logs, and up into tree crowns. These tunnels shelter the termites as they travel to and from food sites around the clock. Eventually, they build a distinctive central nest using partially digested plant material, soil, and poop. They construct a massive egg-shaped structure, complete with numerous passages, chambers, and ventilation holes.

Defending the Colony

Deep within, they establish a royal cell that’s fortified with extra thick walls. But this architectural marvel attracts admirers, like an anteater. The termite soldiers launch a counterattack. They’re tiny and blind, but their heads function like squirt guns. They secure the anteater’s position using chemical signals, clench their powerful muscles, and shoot a sticky spray from their heads. The nest sustains some damage, but the royals remain undisturbed, pumping out eggs into their reinforced fortress.

Continuing the Legacy

As the colony matures, some of the young develop into reproductives. Most fly off to establish new colonies, while some saunter to nearby sites and become the monarchs of the colony’s satellite nests. With one of the longest insect lifespans, a termite queen’s reign can last more than 20 years. The original queens and kings eventually die, but by the time they go, several satellite nests are already thriving. Their reproductive offspring inherit the throne, meaning that their colony may persist for decades to come.