Coneheads, egg stacks and anteater attacks: The reign of a termite queen - Barbara L. Thorne

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2022-08-25 ・ TED-Ed


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Coneheads, egg stacks and anteater attacks: The reign of a termite queen - Barbara L. Thorne

401,055 views ・ 2022-08-25

TED-Ed


Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.

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Tens of thousands of conehead termites are swarming in the Panamanian air.
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These 4 young hopefuls are brave— oh...
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I guess 3. Oh, wow, 2 in 1. Okay!
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This single determined termite is braving countless threats
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to participate in the only flight of her lifetime.
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She evades the onslaught of predators even as she lands, flips off her wings,
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secretes pheromones, and attracts a mate.
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The pair dash from the danger zone into a rotting tree stump.
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It’s the perfect first home— but they’re not alone.
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Unlike most termite species,
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conehead termite colonies can have multiple queens and kings.
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The pair is joined by several other termites ready to reproduce.
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Together, they excavate a chamber in the stump,
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seal the entrance and get busy.
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When the resulting offspring hatch, they bear little resemblance to their parents;
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they’re smaller, wingless, eyeless, and sterile.
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Some of them, the soldiers,
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have the species’ trademark conspicuously shaped heads—
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the function of which will soon be revealed.
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They set out to scout for dead wood, laying the pheromone trails
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the rest of the offspring, the colony’s workers,
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follow and reinforce as they retrieve food.
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As the termites collect and decompose plant debris,
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they return essential nutrients to the soil,
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allowing more vegetation to thrive.
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Gradually, worker termites expand the colony's central chamber
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as they groom and feed the royals and the upcoming broods.
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The tiniest termites can’t yet eat wood independently.
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So, the workers process it and gift it to the youngsters through their saliva
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and by basically throwing up into their mouths.
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With the workers managing groceries, construction, and child care,
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the royals fully commit themselves to reproduction.
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The kings provide sperm on an as-needed basis,
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and the queens undergo radical transformations.
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Their abdomens develop efficient egg-laying machinery
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and extend dramatically.
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Each queen may produce hundreds of eggs a day.
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Meanwhile, a worker entourage retrieves and neatly stacks them into piles.
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The colony grows quickly.
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And once its population is big enough,
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workers construct a system of tunnels stretching over 100 meters across terrain,
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along fallen logs, and up into tree crowns.
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These tunnels shelter the termites as they travel to and from food sites
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around the clock.
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And eventually, they build a distinctive central nest.
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Using partially digested plant material, soil, and poop,
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they construct a massive egg-shaped structure,
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complete with numerous passages, chambers, and ventilation holes.
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Deep within, they establish a royal cell that's fortified with extra thick walls.
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It’s not long before this architectural marvel attracts an admirer: an anteater.
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She swipes at the nest and pokes her long tongue in.
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Those trapped in the tongue’s spines and sticky saliva
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are whisked off to their deaths.
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But the termite soldiers launch a counterattack.
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They’re tiny and blind but their heads function like squirt guns.
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They secure the anteater’s position using chemical signals,
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clench their powerful muscles and shoot a sticky spray from their heads.
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After a minute, the anteater stops feeding,
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scratches the goo away, and lopes off.
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The nest sustained some damage, but the royals remain undisturbed,
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pumping out eggs into their reinforced fortress.
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As the colony matures, some of the young develop into reproductives.
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Most fly off to establish new colonies— one lands on a fallen tree,
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another scrambles into a crack in a house,
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and another climbs into a shipping crate.
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But some will simply saunter to sites nearby
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and become the monarchs of the colony’s satellite nests.
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With one of the longest insect lifespans,
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a termite queen’s reign can last more than 20 years.
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The original queens and kings eventually die, but by the time they go,
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several satellite nests are already thriving.
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Their reproductive offspring inherit the throne,
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meaning that their colony may persist for decades to come.
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