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WHAT ARE TERMITES AND WOOD
DESTROYING INSECTS?

What are Termites?

Termites are insects that feed on wood and serve an important
function in nature by converting dead trees into organic matter.
Unfortunately, the wood in buildings is equally appetizing to
termites and they cause serious damage to residential and
commercial buildings.

Subterranean termites are found in the Northeast.

Biology

Subterranean termites are ground-inhabiting, social insects
that live in colonies. A colony or nest of subterranean termites
may be up to 18-20 feet below the soil surface to protect it from
extreme weather conditions. There termites travel through mud
tubes to reach food sources above the soil surface.

The mature termite colony has three castes:

1. Reproductive (King and Queen)
2. Soldiers
3. Workers

The colony reaches its maximum size in approximately 4-years
and may include 60,000
to 200,000 workers. New colonies are formed when winged
males and females from a parent colony emerge in flight or
swarm.

The winged reproductive are dark brown to brownish black and
have two pairs of equal size wings that extend well beyond the
body. Swarms are common in spring and fall,
especially after rain. After a flight, the winged males and
females return to the ground and shed their wings. The
wingless males and female pair off and search for sources of
wood and moisture in soil.

The royal couple digs a chamber in the soil near wood, enters
the chamber and seals the opening. After mating, the queen
starts laying eggs. The queen may live up to 25 years
and lay more than 60,000 eggs in her lifetime. The eggs are
yellowish white and hatch after an incubation of 50-60 days.

Full-grown workers are soft-bodied, wingless, blind and creamy
white. In early stages, they are fed predigested food by the
King and Queen. Once workers are able to digest wood, they
provide food for the entire colony. The workers perform all the
labor in the colony such as obtaining food, feeding other caste
members and immature, excavating wood, constructing tunnels.
Workers mature within a year and live from three to five years.

Soldiers are creamy white, soft-bodied, wingless and blind.
The head of the soldier is enormously elongated, brownish,
hard and equipped with two jaws. Soldiers must be fed by the
workers because they cannot feed themselves. They are less
numerous in the colony than workers and their only function is
to defend the colony against invaders. Soldiers mature within a
year and live up to five years.

Other Wood Destroying Insects

1. Powderpost Beetles
2. Old House Borer
3. Wharf Borer
4. Black Carpenter Ant
5. Large Carpenter Bee