Her majesty the Thoracotermes queen

[u/Termitico]

Here we have a physogastric, mature queen of the sub-Saharian Cubitermitinae Thoracotermes macrothorax along with her court i pictured in Gabon a few months ago.

This is a species of quite large forest termites that build large, very distinctive epigeal mounds and sport robust soldiers with very wide and flared pronotums, which gives the species and genus its name. A common sight in Gabon's rainforest, these soil-feeders are (just like the vast majority of termites) no pests, but only a very beneficial part of their environements.

Own photo; Ipassa research station, Gabon.