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Uncover the secrets of one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
(Plus, how else would they have figured out how to build pyramids without a lot of

Their markings tell predators: „Eat something else! I taste terrible.“
Their markings tell predators: „Eat something else! I taste terrible.“

A queen stretches out in her spacious home as her subjects scurry around her. The queen’s workers try to make her comfortable and keep her dwelling clean. This “royal” is well cared for, but you couldn’t exactly call her lifestyle luxurious. That’s because she’s a termite! LARGE AND IN CHARGE Over 2,000 species of termites can be found around the world. Termite colonies, which can include thousands of individuals, often live in large dirt mounds. When a female termite hits breeding age, she may emerge from her colony and find a mate. The pair then creates a burrow in the ground and the female (called a queen) begins to produce eggs—a lot of them. In fact this female generates around 30,000 eggs a day! Once her offspring hatch, they become part of her colony. As the female produces more and more eggs, she begins to grow. Over time she can become the length of an adult human’s index finger. That’s a hundred times bigger than any of the termites that surround her. Eventually the queen gets so large that she can barely move. Luckily members of the queen’s community are there to wait on her, um, antenna and foot. TERMITE TOWERS Many of the offspring that hatch from the queen’s eggs become worker termites. They help the queen by keeping her clean, feeding her plant fibers, and looking after newly laid eggs. These insects may also double as construction workers, carrying up soil from underground to create the colony’s mound. Some termite mounds can reach over 17 feet in height. Sounds like the termite queen and her workers really know how to go big! Watch an amazing video about termites. Text by Andrea Silen, NGS Staff
Find out what else makes termites so freaky in this episode of Freaky Creatures!

A two-inch-long tube-lipped nectar bat hovers by a narrow, bell-shaped flower in its forest habitat. This hungry animal is after nectar at the bottom of the blossom. To get to the goody, the bat pokes its snout into the flower. With the nectar still out of reach, the mammal sticks out its tongue, which is one-and-a-half times the length of its body. After licking up the sticky sweet, the bat retracts its jumbo-size tongue and flies off. TRANSFORMING TONGUE The tube-lipped nectar bat was first discovered in Ecuador, a country in South America. It has the longest tongue compared to its body of any mammal in the world. In fact, if this bat were a person, its tongue would be almost nine feet in length! The bat stores the extra-long licker in its chest until it comes across a flower with yummy nectar inside. Once the animal’s tongue reaches the nectar in the blossom, the tip transforms. Hairlike bristles on the tongue stretch outward, making it prickly. With these bristles extended, the bat can extract more food from the plant. By chowing down on flower nectar, these animals don’t just satisfy their hunger—they also help maintain their habitat. POLLEN POWER As the tube-lipped nectar bat eats from the flower, it brushes against the petals. This causes pollen from the blossom to fall on the bat’s head. The bat sprinkles the pollen from the flower on the next plant it visits. This can lead to the creation of seeds, which get dispersed and grow into new blossoms. Who knew bats were good at gardening? Watch a video of the tube-lipped nectar bat. Text by Andrea Silen, NGS Staff
Find out what else makes the tube-lipped nectar bat so freaky in this episode of

Get pictures and facts about eight awesome wacky landmarks.
The roadside replica in Virginia is made out of—what else?—Styrofoam.

The teenage girl who helped lead a French army to victory
Legend has it that Joan knew details about the king that no one else did, and he

For our Special Endangered Animals Issue, we’re celebrating five animals that were once in trouble but are now recovering. Before you read about these inspiring comebacks, take a fun quiz to discover the best way you can help your favorite critter.
wolves are the only species of wolf that lives in the United States—and nowhere else

Create your own stop-motion animated movie!
clay or paper) Backdrops, backgrounds, or a good place to shoot a movie Whatever else

Trudi Trueit has written more than a hundred books for young readers, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of writing began in fourth grade when she wrote, directed, and starred in her first play. She went on to become a TV news reporter and weather forecaster, but she knew her calling was in writing. Trueit is a gifted storyteller for middle-grade audiences, and her fiction novels include The Sister Solution, Stealing Popular, and the Secrets of a Lab Rat series. Her expertise in nonfiction for kids comes through in books on history, weather, wildlife, and Earth science. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Trueit lives in Everett, Washington.
Then I just started writing to fill everything else in.

Get to know trees.
DON’T take leaves or anything else if you’re in a protected area, like a national