When the original king and queen of termites die, they are replaced by

Analyze the question: It asks what replaces the primary king and queen of a termite colony when they die. This is about caste system and succession in social insects.

Concept: Termites live in colonies with a caste system:

• Primary reproductives (king and queen): The original founders of the colony.
• Workers: Sterile; they feed, clean, and build.
• Soldiers: Sterile; they defend the colony.
• Nymphs: Immature termites that can develop into different castes depending on the colony's needs.
• Supplementary (secondary) reproductives: Develop from nymphs when the king or queen dies or becomes weak. They are neotenic, meaning they become sexually mature while still keeping some juvenile features, and they take over egg-laying and fertilization.

Step-by-step solution:

• A. King and queen of another colony: Wrong. Termite colonies are closed and territorial, and they do not accept foreign royalty.
• B. Adult reproductives from the same colony: Wrong. The adult winged reproductives (alates) leave the colony on their nuptial flight to found new colonies. They are not kept as replacements.
• C. Adult workers specially fed to breed: Wrong. Adult workers are sterile and have completed their development, so feeding cannot turn them into breeders. (In some termite species workers can become reproductive, but this is not the standard answer.)
• D. Developing nymphs nurtured as secondary reproductives: Correct. The colony feeds certain nymphs specially and pheromone changes trigger their development into neotenic reproductives, who replace the dead king and queen.

Tip: Remember "Nymphs Never die out", meaning nymphs are the colony's reserve for replacement royalty. In termites, think nymph → secondary reproductive. In honeybees, by contrast, workers rear a new queen from a young larva fed on royal jelly. Don't mix the two up in the exam.