Termites are generally grouped according to their feeding behavior. Thus, the commonly used general groupings are subterranean, soil-feeding, dry wood, dampwood, and grass-eating. Of these, subterranean and dry woods are primarily responsible for damage to human-made structures.

All termites eat cellulose in its various forms as plant fiber. Cellulose is a rich energy source (as demonstrated by the amount of energy released when the wood is burned) but remains difficult to digest. Termites rely primarily upon microbes in their gut to digest the cellulose for them and absorb the end products for their own use. This relationship is one of the finest examples of mutualism among animals.

Some species of termite practice fungi culture. They maintain a “garden” of specialized fungi of genus Termitomyces, which are nourished by the excrement of the insects. When the fungi are eaten, their spores pass undamaged through the intestines of the termites to complete the cycle by germinating in the fresh fecal pellets. They are also well known for eating smaller insects in the last resort environment.

Termite workers build and maintain nests which house the colony. These are elaborate structures made using a combination of soil, mud, chewed wood/cellulose, saliva, and feces. A nest has many functions such as providing protected living space and water conservation (through controlled condensation). There are nursery chambers deep within the nest where eggs and first instar larvae are tended. Some species maintain fungal gardens that are fed on collected plant matter.

Nests are commonly built underground, in large pieces of timber, inside fallen trees or atop living trees. Some species build nests aboveground, and they can develop into mounds. Homeowners need to be careful of tree stumps that have not been dug up. These are prime candidates for termite nests and being close to homes, termites usually end up destroying the siding and sometimes even wooden beams.

Termites are weak and relatively fragile insects that need to stay moist to survive. They can be overpowered by ants and other predators when exposed. They avoid these perils by covering their trails with tubing made of feces, plant matter, saliva, and soil. Thus the termites can remain hidden and wall out unfavorable environmental conditions. Sometimes these shelter tubes will extend for many meters, such as up the outside of a tree reaching from the soil to dead branches.

To a subterranean termite, any breach of their tunnels or nest is a cause for alarm. When the Formosan subterranean termite and the Eastern subterranean termite detect a potential breach, the soldiers will usually bang their heads apparently to attract other soldiers for defense and recruit additional workers to repair any breach. This head-banging response to vibration is also useful when attempting to locate termites in house frames.

At maturity, a primary queen has a great capacity to lay eggs. In species, the queen adds an extra set of ovaries with each resulting in a greatly distended abdomen and increased fecundity often reported to reach a production of more than 2,000 eggs a day. termite tube 2The distended abdomen increases the queen’s body length to several times more than before mating and reduces her ability to move freely, though attendant workers provide assistance. The queen is widely believed to be a primary source of pheromones useful in colony integration, and these are thought to be spread through shared feeding trophallaxis.

The king grows only slightly larger after initial mating and continues to mate with sealing the queen for life (a termite queen can live for 45 years). This is very different from ant colonies, in which a queen mates once with the male(s) and stores the gametes for life, as the male ants die shortly after mating.

The winged (or “alate”) caste, also referred to as the reproductive caste, are generally the only termites with well-developed eyes, although workers of some harvesting species do have well-developed compound eyes, and, in other species, soldiers with eyes occasionally appear. Termites on the path to becoming alates going through incomplete metamorphosis form a subcaste in certain species of termites, functioning as workers “pseudergates” and also as potential supplementary reproductives. Supplementaries have the ability to replace a dead primary reproductive and, at least in some species, several are recruited once a primary queen is lost.

In areas with a distinct dry season, the alates leave the nest in large swarms after the first soaking rain of the rainy season. In other regions, flights may occur throughout the year, or more commonly, in the spring and autumn. Termites are relatively poor fliers and are readily blown downwind in wind speeds of less than 2 km/h, shedding their wings soon after landing at an acceptable site, where they mate and attempt to form a nest in damp timber or earth.

This is not a project for the Do-it-yourselfer, to say the least. If you think you have a termite problem we encourage you to call us to set up a free visit and consultation. The longer you wait the more damage will be done to your property.