Add a word to your vocabulary: “exuviae” Have you ever wondered why you never see cast off exoskeletons that the colony members shed during molting? Here is an interesting article that tells you why.
Nothing goes to waste in a termite colony. You might though see some cast off soldier mandibles, a bit too hard to chew?
See: https://entomologytoday.org/2023/03/09/nitrogen-nosh-termites-consume-molted-exoskeletons-exuviae/
Photo courtesy of Reina Tong, Ph.D.
