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The bizarre death rituals of termites and their queens [1]

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Date: 2024-06-01  

I have never seen a creature more grotesque than a queen termite.

I'm usually not too squeamish about bugs, but after seeing what a queen termite looks and acts like, I want to hide inside of an air-tight, bug-proof, plastic box for the rest of my life.

The queen termites' massive size compared to regal termites, along with its pulsating, translucent body, is not the only freaky quality about this bug. Queen termites are so heavy with eggs that they can't move enough to clean themselves. The other termites in the colony spend their days constantly licking the queen to keep her clean. At the end of her life, though, they all become cannibals and devour her body.

This is by far, the creepiest insect behavior I've ever witnessed. Thanks, youtube.



See also: Year of the cicadas: two 17-year broods wake up at once

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