Macrotermes Queen vs Lacteus Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Macrotermes Queen Lacteus Termite
Scientific Name Macrotermes bellicosus Coptotermes lacteus
Order Blattodea Blattodea
Family Termitidae Rhinotermitidae
Size 100-140 mm (queen) 4-6 mm
Habitat Grasslands Woodlands
Diet Fungus Feeders Wood Feeders
Regions Africa Eastern Australia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Macrotermes Queen

Queens can live for over 25 years (possibly up to 50) and grow to enormous size — a single queen lays up to 30,000 eggs per day, more than any other insect.

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Did You Know?

A Macrotermes queen can live 25-50 years and produce up to 30,000 eggs per day — her abdomen swells so large that she becomes physically incapable of moving.

Lacteus Termite

An Australian mound-building termite that constructs distinctive dark, hard-walled mounds up to 2 meters tall. The mounds are a common sight in pastures and open woodland across eastern Australia. Workers are pale and soft-bodied with gut protozoa for cellulose digestion.

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Did You Know?

Their mounds are so durable that they persist for decades after the colony dies and are sometimes used as road-building material in rural Australia.