7. Reproductive Strategies
Termite reproductive systems provide an amazing illustration of biological optimization in action.To enable them to create millions of eggs over their lifetime, queens have evolved amazing physical adaptations including the ability to extend their abdomens to several times their original size.They have also evolved complex systems for regulating colony expansion, including the capacity to generate several kinds of eggs that would mature into distinct castes as needed.The development of extra reproductives guarantees backup breeding capacity, therefore maintaining colony survival even in the case of a dead main queen.These reproductive strategies highlight how natural selection has maximized survival as well as successful reproduction.
