Termites!

Daughter Number 3.1's partner is studying entomology this term, and has been learning about termites. They make up 10% of the Earth's biomass. (Not to worry, they are not #1: ants make up 20%.)

Termites are the most social of insects, she told me, with more roles among members of the hive than any other kind of insect. The various types of termites look very different from each other, so in order to identify a termite species, entomologists have to have a sample of each role within the hive to be sure.

Though we tend to think of termites as causing damage to houses, that's not their main target. They are responsible for eliminating much of the dead wood on our planet.

The thing that got my attention the most about what DN3 told me was the fact that termite queens live for 10 years and lay 2,000 eggs a day during that time. (That's more than 7 million eggs for those without a calculator handy.)

The queens are larger than the other members of the hive, which is not unusual among insects, but in this case... their abdomens are MUCH larger:


The little brown part at left is the head; the giant whitish part is the abdomen. 

 While we were talking, DN3.1 mused that a curse on your enemies would be to wish they were reborn as a termite queen, since the queen's 10 years of egg-laying duties do not sound like much fun. 

And it occurred to me that such a rebirtgh would be perfect for Elon Musk: he could have 7 million + children, and eliminate a lot of dead wood — without a chainsaw.