The Termites (3)
Besides the worker termites, a colony usually has also a larger number of soldiers. In most cases, the soldiers are characterized by enormous mandibles, which are used to defend the colony against enemies, mainly ants. There are, however, also termite species which developed potent chemical defense secretions. These are of little use when the colony is attacked by an ant eater.
The colony entrances are garded by soldiers and workers, and in the case of an attack, a sophisticated alarm drumming system serves to call for reinforcements.
Many termite species have two types of soldiers; the head capsule of the larger ones may completely block the narrow passages between individual nest chambers.