Termite eusociality is accompanied by flagrant caste polyphenism manifested by the presence of several sterile (workers and soldiers) and reproductive (imaginal and neotenic kings and queens) caste phenotypes. Imaginal kings and queens are developmentally equivalent to adults of other hemimetabolous insects but display multiple adaptations inherent to their role of eusocial colony founders, such as long lifespan and high fecundity. Herein, we summarize the recent advances in understanding the biology of imaginal (primary) queens as emblematic examples of termite polyphenism acquired during social evolution. We focus on the control of queen development, on dynamics in physiology and fecundity during the queen's life, on new findings about queen fertility signaling, and on proximate mechanisms underlying queen longevity.

Chemistry of Social Insects Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry Czech Academy of Sciences 160 00 Prague Czech Republic

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University 1919 1 Tancha Onna son Okinawa 904 0495 Japan; Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Université libre de Bruxelles 50 avenue F D Roosevelt 1050 Brussels Belgium

References provided by Crossref.org

Extended longevity of termite kings and queens is accompanied by extranuclear localization of telomerase in somatic organs and caste-specific expression of its isoforms