Beehive Shrimp

Animal colonies or hives are a pretty popular concept up here on the surface. One queen appears to rule the roost in the colonies of ants, bees, termites, and many other types of insects. Eusociality, as it's named, has only been seen in one marine species, a shrimp called Synalpheus regalis. The name "regalis" for the species is from the Latin word regalis, which means "royal". This is probably due to the colonies' hierarchical structure, in which a single mother bears all of the young.

These small shrimp, which are available in many vibrant colors, inhabit coral and sponges. They are snapping shrimp, which means that they have one large claw and one small claw, giving them a menacing or amusing appearance depending on your point of view.

The shrimp have a queen, much like any good hive organization. Although colonies might have over 300 members, there is only one reproductive female each colony. Members of hives tend to the young, defend the colony from intruders, and collaborate to complete duties.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Caridea
Family: Alpheidae
Genus: Synalpheus
Species: S. regalis