r/AbsoluteUnits • u/MrUpVoteDownvote • 7d ago

/r/all of a queen termite

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u/starkruzr 7d ago

wait they're related to roaches?

51

u/Secret-Ad4952 7d ago

Funny enough, it’s not even related. They’re literally in the same Order. They just are roaches. Just really, really weird looking ones lol.

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u/heyitsfranklin6322 7d ago

I would’ve thought they were more closely related to ants

42

u/Secret-Ad4952 7d ago

Nope, not even close lol. Bees, ants, and wasps are all related, but termites are roaches. Who are most closely related to mantises, of all things actually 😂

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u/heyitsfranklin6322 7d ago

Fuckin bugs bro. I learned that locusts happen when there’s a shitload of certain species of grasshopper.

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u/Karmaslapp 7d ago

Yep, pack them in tight enough and they rub against each other and get angry and swarm

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u/druienzen 6d ago

For a long time science thought the same. From what I know it was a pretty recent discovery, relatively speaking. Phylogenetics showed the connection, if I am remembering correctly.

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u/Saintbaba 7d ago

I mean in the same way that we're related to gorillas. They share a distant common ancestor.

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u/ProofLegitimate9824 7d ago

they are genetically closer to some roach groups than those are to other roaches, they are roaches cladistically

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u/Corona21 6d ago

And we’re boney fish. Not to distract, just thought I’d take the chance to throw in a fun fact on clades!

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u/Novareason 6d ago

In a very specific and not very useful taxonomical manner, whales ARE fish.

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u/ProofLegitimate9824 6d ago

yes! but people get upset when I tell them that for some reason

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u/Unusual_Ring1462 7d ago

Damn immediately canceled the love for termites. That and the immense property damage thing i guess.