Asexual, all-female termite societies exist in Japan and are they taking applications?
Today in "that sounds nice," a group of biologists studying termite colonies in southern Japan have discovered all-female colonies that function perfectly without even a single male termite being involved.
The lady termites, which reproduce asexually, appear to have been descended from mixed sex colonies but at some point decided that enough was enough and branched out to create new colonies where it's girls' night every night. And day. Forever.
Besides the obvious advantage of everyone remembering to put the toilet seat down and a presumed 100 percent reduction in man termites making decisions about woman termites' bodies, the scientists noted that the uniform head shape of lady termites is an advantage when it comes to defending the colony from intruders.
Strong, beautiful lady termites. Getting it done, kicking out men, and forming flawless Spartan phalanxes with their heads. Is it messed up that being a southern Japanese termite sounds awesome right about now?
Topics Animals
Alexis Nedd is a senior entertainment reporter at Mashable. A self-named "fanthropologist," she's a fantasy, sci-fi, and superhero nerd with a penchant for pop cultural analysis. Her work has previously appeared in BuzzFeed, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and Esquire.
