My Science School

A species of horned dung beetle called Onthophagus taurus is the strongest insect on Earth with its capacity to pull over 1140 times its body weight. According to scientists, it evolved such strength as this is the deciding factor in males’ competition over females.

The beetles aren't the dung-ball-carrying variety, and instead the females bury most of the fecal material (with a little help from males) from, say, cow droppings.

The females build little tunnels where they use the dung to lay their eggs in. It's in this tunnel where mating, and the pre-mating fights between waiting males, takes place. But not all males are equipped for battle, with some sporting horns and others hornless. The no-horn beetles instead wait at the tunnel's entrance, sometimes hiding out in self-built side tunnels, and sneak in to mate before getting caught by a horned male.

The horned males, on the other hand, duke it out head-to-head.

Credit : Live Science

Picture Credit : Google

It is the African mound-building termite queen that lives longer than any other insect we know of. These termites are known for building spectacular mounds that can reach five metres or higher. Some termite queens can live for over 60 years. According to some scientists, they may even live up to a hundred years. What does the termite queen do? She constantly lays eggs, between 20,000 and 30,000 every day.

The role of the queen in a termite colony varies and changes over time. After pairing with a male, she begins her job as "founder" to get the colony started. She has to locate a suitable nest site, help excavate it, and then start producing eggs that will become workers.

The queen and king are groomed and fed by workers, which enter the royal cell through small openings in its hard protective wall. Queens lay eggs at a steady rate every day. Workers move the eggs to incubation chambers.

Egg production is slow at first, but increases year by year; the queen maintains peak egg performance for seven to 10 years. Once the secondary queens - which are produced within the colony - begin egg-laying, colony size (number of workers) increases rapidly.

The number of eggs produced by the queen varies depending on the species and the age of the queen. In tropical regions, egg production is continuous throughout the year, although there are seasonal fluctuations. In more temperate regions, termite egg production is often suspended during the cooler months.

After hatching, young immatures are taken to nursery chambers where they are fed and groomed by workers. They are moved to other chambers in the nest until their final molt into workers or soldiers.

A colony of about 1,000 workers at two years can multiply into 300,000 workers in five more years. Secondary queens are usually located in satellite nests away from, but connected to the main nest, so colonies can grow in size and number of individuals.

Credit : Orkin

Picture Credit : Google