Guarding the swarm - Macrotermes gilvus

[ItalianTermiteMan]

Sharing with you a beautiful pic by Yunhan (No Rights Reserved CC licence) showing a group of minor soldier of Macrotermes gilvus, a common fungus-growing termite widespread in south and south-east Asia, guarding a slit opened in their mound to allow their alates to fly off and found new colonies. Behind this first line of defence many more soldiers stand guard, including majors (of which one can be barely seen); workers also congregate at the area, ready to seal off the breach should the need arise. As a plus, note the big-eyed alate peeking out on the left!