Perfect Alate in Fossil Amber

Unusual are the specimens with such a stunning single inclusion. Beautifully centered with wings splayed as if in flight is an Alate, the sexual form of the termite. The perfectly centered Alate shares its resin tomb with 5 Dipterans and a cisid beetle.

Flying termites, or Alates, are the sexual form of termites which swarm from the colony in huge numbers to fly weakly to a new site to form another colony, where they soon shed their wings and set up housekeeping. Modern-day termites time the emergence of all colonies in a region to swamp the predators, giving at least a few the opportunity to found new colonies.