Termites
Order: Isoptera
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A termite colony is composed of the million strong workforce of a single queen. All the workers are blind and sterile and endlessly gather food for their nest mates. There is also another member of the workforce, the guards, who offer protection for the workers. These have developed a variety of different weapons for their role, dependent on species. Some have evolved large jaws rendering the carriers unable to feed themselves. They are therefore left entirely dependent on their nest mates. The guards of other species lack weaponry, but instead bring their large heads together to block their nest entrance from attackers. However, the most highly evolved of the weaponry is possessed by the nasute termites, which have a cylindrical gun attached to their foreheads that fires a sticky acid chemical spray. This is used to entrap invading insects and protect the colony. Despite a similar way of living, termites are not closely related to ants, termites being more closely related to cockroaches whereas ants more closely related to bees and wasps.
