A closer look at termites

Just like curious kids, adults especially homeowners should ask what termites are, what they look like and what they can do. Believe me, asking these questions and knowing the answers to them can save you a whole bunch of trouble in the future.

What are termites? Termites or as most people incorrectly call them, “white ants” are a group of social insects under the class Isoptera. They look like ants but in reality they are not ants nor akin to them, they are more related to cockroaches when it comes to ancestry. Termites are most plentiful in tropical and subtropical regions and are mainly detrivores. This means they mostly feed on dead plant materials in the form of leaf litter, wood or soil. Although termites are of significant ecological importance because they play a role in nature’s recycling, around 10% out of the 4,000 species of termites are considered pests. This is due to the severe structural damages they can cause to homes, buildings, and plantation or crops forests.

Being a social insect, termites exist in colonies that may hold a few hundred to even a few million individuals. Termites are a superlative example of a self-organized, decentralized system utilizing swarm intelligence. Their extraordinary teamwork is very handy in exploiting the environment and their food sources. As usual, termite colony comprises of a king, an egg-laying queen, workers and soldiers. In this regard, they are more like ants.

Termite’s Caste System

Swarmers. They are also called reproductives because they are the ones who are in charge of spreading the termite race. Swarmers may be yellow brown, brown, and grayish brown to dark brown depending on its species. Some have long legs while others have short. One distinguishing characteristic of swarmers are their four wings that are of similar length but are longer than their bodies. Unlike winged ants, these termites have no constrictions in their abdomen area and they don’t have bent antennae.

Soldiers. Soldier termites look like soldier ants – they are big with crushing mandibles and huge heads. They may have yellowish brown color. The main role of soldier termites is to defend and protect the colony against intruders and/or invaders like other insects and even people.

Workers. Workers are considerably smaller than soldier termites and just a bit smaller than swarmers. Do you know that worker termites are actually blind? But do not underestimate these creamy white almost translucent termites because they can be the most devastating group. This portion of the colony is the primary wood eaters. They also function as nest builders, food gatherers, larvae feeders and caregivers. Worker termites just like swarmer termites have narrow waists and have antennae pointing outward. The only difference is that worker termites have no wings.

Why be concerned with termites? Be wary of termites’ voracious wood-eating habits that pose real and great dangers to wooden structures. Never underestimate them because once termites infest a place they just don’t limit themselves and their appetite to wood! They’ll go for anything cellulose-like in nature like paper, cloth, carpets and the like. More so, they have this habit and ability of staying hidden that often results to their existence being undetected until the whole building or majority of the timbers are brutally damaged or are already exhibiting surface changes — therefore causing very costly repairs and renovations.

Dean Gallagher
Termitexpel.Com