The Termite Queen

The Termite Queen.
And her worker termites.
Why is she so much bigger?
She starts life as a tiny nymph and as she matures, she heads underground and starts her own colony. She has one mate. The termite king.
She grows bigger as the colony grows.
Reaching up to 6 inches (15 cms).
Her distended abdomen is completely filled with eggs.
She lays up to 11 million eggs per year for more than 10 years.
The king’s only job is to mate with her.
Due to her size, she can’t move, so the workers have to tend to her every need. This includes feeding her and licking her to keep her clean.
When she reaches the end of her life, the workers feed on her body and recycle the nutrients in the colony.
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Scientific Classification:
Class: Insecta
Cohort: Polyneoptera
Superorder: Dictyoptera
Order: Blattodea
Infraorder: Isoptera
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Keywords: 
Termitidae, name, question, predation, wildlife, binomial nomenclature, kingdom, insects, facts, facts about insects, trivia, did you know, mud, termite control, Australian termite, termite nest, 
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