Macrotermes - The Queen

The Queen is the life of the Macrotermes Citadel. Without her, the Colony would swiftly be overrun. It is thanks to this single Queen that the Colony can survive, for she is the one that creates the next generation. The difference between her and other Queens is that she is truly immobile; once the first generation is born, she is incapable of caring for herself or others and relies completely upon her brood and her mate for survival. She is so large that her entire body is incapable of movement, and thanks to her massive pulsating thorax she has only one job; to lay thousands of eggs daily, up to 30,000 at a time. It is thanks to this that the numbers of the Citadel amass so quickly and in so short of time, ensuring that the walls and inner workings are easily defended.


I've taken quite an interest in termites. It is hard to believe that these things can be so similar to ants in behavior and social structure, yet be descended from such different creatures. Ants are a part of the order Hymenoptera, which includes wasps as well as bees, which is why both look similar and have stinging capabilities even though one is restricted to the ground and one is not. Termites, on the other hand, are related to roaches and grasshoppers; primitive termites in Australia actually retain the brown coloring and size of their ancestors and queens actually lay eggs in capsules rather than in large clumps. Termites are also born as nymphs instead of larvae, whereas hymenopteran insects undergo complete metamorphosis.

A true fact about the queen of any Termite species is that they are massive. While their heads and abdomens are the same size as the workers, her thorax is at least twenty times bigger, pulsates, and is almost completely full of ovaries. The difference between Royals of Termites and Ants are also big enough that Queens need a mate in order to fertilize eggs, and so a darker colored, slightly larger King termite always stays by her side while she amasses the colony's size and strength.

In Insectora, Termite Queens will be immobile and can only exist inside of a Citadel. As a bonus, Queens will appear whenever a Citadel is destroyed, meaning that should they recover the Termites can build a new Citadel over her and star over. Consequently, an enemy faction can kill the Termite Queen and amass a huge amount of food resource from her, and if no other Citadel is constructed (given the rarity of places to build them and their expense, this is usually the case. Defensive players rarely recover if their walls ever fall) this is instant game over for said faction regardless of other structures or units.

Here's a quick vid, courtesy of Nat. Geographic, of a Termite Queen in reality - [link]


Insectora (c) Kerian Halcyon
Model made and textured in Cinema 4D

-Kerian