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The Subterranean Termite Colony
Subterranean termites are social insects that live in large, underground colonies. In the natural world, termites perform a service by breaking down wood and cellulose-based materials. They become pests when they try the same thing in your home, attacking and damaging floors, walls, beams, siding and anything else made of wood or cellulose.
If necessary, termites will forage 300 feet or more in search of food. As they do, they build shelter "mud" tubes in which to travel. These are composed of particles of soil cemented together with salivary secretions and fecal material. The tubes can vary in thickness from narrow exploratory tubes to passageways as thick as your arm.
Termites work behind the scenes. They rarely break through the surface of wood. As a result, you might never see them, or any evidence of them, until you discover that serious damage has been done to your home.
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THE KING AND QUEEN
A king and queen are at the center of every termite colony. Their sole purpose is to reproduce. A queen can live for as long as 30 years.
The queen, with her extended abdomen, is much larger than the male.
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EGGS
Termites begin life as white eggs laid by the mature queen. She may lay thousands every year. These eggs hatch into nymphs.
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NYMPHS
While in the nymph stage, young termites diverge into the four different classes of termites that are present in every colony: workers, soldiers, reproductives, and supplementary reproductives. Each fills a unique role in the colony.
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WORKERS
Workers are cream or mottled cream in color, wingless termites that maintain the colony, construct and repair the nest and tubes, forage for food, and care for the other termites. They are the most numerous caste and the most commonly found in infested wood. They avoid light and are blind. They live up to two years.
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SOLDIERS
Soldiers have hard dark-colored, enlarged heads featuring large mandibles that are used to fight enemies, primarily ants. Soldiers are sterile, wingless, and blind, and function solely to defend the colony. They cannot feed themselves, but are instead fed by workers. They typically make up about 2 - 10 percent of the termite population.
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SUPPLEMENTARY REPRODUCTIVES
Supplementary reproductives serve as replacements for the king or queen if they should die. However, these supplementary reproductives often exist in mature colonies along with the queen and king. These supplementary reproductives produce viable eggs, thus greatly increasing the total reproductive capacity of the colony.
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SWARMING
"Swarmers" are the winged termites that will leave the colony in an attempt to start new colonies of their own. The winged termites "swarm" (or leave the nest) usually once in the spring or early summer. Their goal is to start new colonies. Some fly far from their former colony (600-800 feet for Formosan subterranean termites), and most other subterranean termites fly away but remain closer to their original nest.
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MATING
After swarming the reproductives shed their wings and pair up. Once a pair is formed, a new colony is formed.
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COLONY MATES
Once mated, the queen begins to lay eggs. Her abdomen will become very large as she devotes her energy to egg laying.
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All About Termites
Are You Inviting Termites?
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