Million colonies of tropical termites are the oldest societies on earth. Their giant adobe locks with a wall thickness of up to 90 cm, a diameter and a height of about 3 m are the wonders of architecture. Termite colonies are known that existed for 50 years or more. In the center of the termite and the whole life of the colony there is always a large uterus, or “queen”, laying off from eight to ten thousand eggs a day.
The uterus often lives as long as there is a colony. If some misfortune befalls it, then the hormonal inhibitor, usually causing the larvae to develop into sterile workers and soldiers, mysteriously ceases to function, and after a couple of weeks one of the larvae becomes a new uterus.
Although all termites can not eat wood, many of them do this, despite the fact that they are not internally adapted to digest it. To split and assimilate dense cellulose fibers of wood, termite breeds its own colony of unicellular microorganisms, which change the chemical composition of the wood so that it becomes digestible. These unicellular animals are fed by working termites to the larvae.
Termites are quite capable of opening cans, spreading tin with a special composition, produced by symbionts, from which the metal quickly rusts and collapses.
