Birds Do It, Bees Do It; Termites Don't, Necessarily
Thursday, March 26, 2009 - 13:49
in Biology & Nature
Scientists at North Carolina State University and three universities in Japan have shown for the first time that it is possible for certain female termite "primary queens" to reproduce both sexually and asexually during their lifetimes. The asexually produced babies mostly grow to be queen successors - so-called "secondary queens" - that remain in the termite colony and mate with the king. This produces large broods of babies without the dangers of inbreeding, as secondary queens have no genes in common with the king.