#751: Termite

There are around 3000 species of Termite, occuring in every continent except Antarctica. Like ants, they are eusocial, being divided into four castes: sterile workers and soldiers, and fertile kings and queens. The workers and soldiers are blind, and lack eyes, relying on their antennae as their main sensory organ. Workers are the labourers, collecting and digesting food in the form of decaying wood and other detritus. It is then fed to the juvenile termites. Soldiers, characterised by their powerful jaws, protect  the nest from predators - of which there are many. Termites live in large nests composed of faecal and plant matter, in some species, these mounds can be 4 m high and 2.5 m wide, forming large and complex structures.