Which order is eusocial and generally soft-bodied, with wings only in reproductives that have fracture lines and break off after colony establishment?

Which order is eusocial and generally soft-bodied, with wings only in reproductives that have fracture lines and break off after colony establishment?

• A. Isoptera
• B. Dermaptera
• C. Grylloblattodea
• D. Mantodea

Answer: (A)

Eusocial insects organize colonies with cooperative brood care, overlapping generations, and a reproductive division of labor, and termites are a classic example. In termites, the winged individuals (reproductives) have two pairs of long, membranous wings, and only these reproductives carry wings. After they swarm, mate, and establish a new colony, those wings are shed along distinct fracture lines at the wing bases—leaving the body wingless. This combination of eusocial life history and the wing pattern—temporary wings in reproductives that break off after colony founding—fits termites precisely. The other listed groups lack this same combination: they are not eusocial or do not have winged reproductives that shed their wings in the founding of a colony.

Eusocial insects organize colonies with cooperative brood care, overlapping generations, and a reproductive division of labor, and termites are a classic example. In termites, the winged individuals (reproductives) have two pairs of long, membranous wings, and only these reproductives carry wings. After they swarm, mate, and establish a new colony, those wings are shed along distinct fracture lines at the wing bases—leaving the body wingless. This combination of eusocial life history and the wing pattern—temporary wings in reproductives that break off after colony founding—fits termites precisely. The other listed groups lack this same combination: they are not eusocial or do not have winged reproductives that shed their wings in the founding of a colony.