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uncommon
African Termite Queen
Macrotermes bellicosus
- Habitat
- African savanna mounds reaching 8m tall
- Body length
- 50 mm
- Order
- Blattodea · Termitidae
Weird but real
Sausage-shaped and immobile. Lives 50 years, lays an egg every 3 seconds. The colony she founds builds 8-meter towers with internal climate control.
Why it's cool
Longest-lived insect in the world, possibly. The mound she sits in operates passive air-conditioning that human architects studied to design buildings.
