Termites are among the most successful animals on Earth, forming vast societies that can number in the millions. But how did such complex social systems evolve from solitary ancestors that looked much ...

Physogastric termite queen (top left) of Macrotermes michaelseni being groomed by workers and the larger king, with soldiers in the foreground. Photo by Jan Sobotnik. Termites are among the most ...

Several insect species, including ants, honeybees and termites, live in highly organized societies, also known as social ...

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American There’s an anime-style visual ...

A queen Oecophylla smaragdina ant Didier Descouens via Wikimedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 Small animals don’t usually grow very old. Since they’re always at risk of becoming another critter’s quick snack, ...

Termites reveal a startling consequence of long-term monogamy – the resulting lack of competition between the reproductive sperm of rival males led to the loss of tails in their sperm. This involved ...

Odontotermes obesus is one of the termite species that grows fungi, called Termitomyces, in their mounds. Workers collect dead leaves, wood, and grass to stack them in underground fungus gardens ...

Physogastric termite queen (top left) of Macrotermes michaelseni being groomed by workers and the larger king, with soldiers in the foreground. Photo by Jan Sobotnik. Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert!

Thorne, Barbara. 1985. "Termite polygyny: the ecological dynamics of queen mutualism." In Experimental Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: In Memoriam Karl von ...