Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support Forums
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
6 replies, 604 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
6 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Did Noah have (Original Post)
Floyd R. Turbo
Jun 2019
OP
Ptah
(33,019 posts)1. Only two
hunter
(38,302 posts)2. Two, at first. A termite queen lays an egg every three seconds.
"This little male king sits next to this enormous female that can be several inches long, a ghastly thing," Moffett says. "Even an entomologist like myself, who loves all creatures equally, is pretty startled when he sees a termite queen."
Her skin is stretched and translucent, revealing a bubbling juice underneath the surface. The babies begin to tend the queen. They feed her and they clean her. She sweats an exudate that they lick off continuously. These workers carry away the eggs, stack them in little piles and tend to them until the little termites hatch. Gradually, the queen gives birth to the entire mound.
https://www.npr.org/2011/05/06/136028437/a-termite-queen-and-her-ultimate-sacrifice
Her skin is stretched and translucent, revealing a bubbling juice underneath the surface. The babies begin to tend the queen. They feed her and they clean her. She sweats an exudate that they lick off continuously. These workers carry away the eggs, stack them in little piles and tend to them until the little termites hatch. Gradually, the queen gives birth to the entire mound.
https://www.npr.org/2011/05/06/136028437/a-termite-queen-and-her-ultimate-sacrifice
The math is left as an exercise for the reader.
Ptah
(33,019 posts)3. Add a few variables to the math
There are a wide variety of natural predators when it comes to termites.
From insects and reptiles to mammals and birds, termites are in a constant struggle to survive.
hunter
(38,302 posts)4. The survival struggles on Noah's Ark must have been awesome.
Picture Noah in a Far Side cartoon, hands on hips, scolding Mr. & Mrs. Hyena:
"What the hell, guys!? I could overlook it when you ate one of my wives, she was not a favorite, but you ate the Unicorns too????"
ProudLib72
(17,984 posts)5. No, silly, he only had dinosaurs!
zanana1
(6,103 posts)6. I think the question here is...
Wouldn't termites eat the ark? (Oh, I love these intellectual discussions)!