Types of termites:

Look who’s coming to dinner.

Termites are social insects that live in colonies where populations can reach millions. A termite colony is like a vast, dynamic city, focused on growth and expansion. Each colony consists of several structurally differentiated termite forms living together as castes, all working together to support their colony and can turn your home into a giant buffet.

Meet the castes—a typical termite colony.

King & Queen

The pair of reproductive termites that successfully establishes a new colony is called the Primary King and Queen. The queen’s sole purpose is to reproduce, laying thousands of eggs every year. Some live for as long as 30 years.

Workers

These blind, wingless termites make up the largest caste and are the most likely to be found in infested wood. They build tunnels and galleries, repair the nest, forage for food, and care for other termites. Workers can molt into older nymphs, soldiers, or reproductive termites.

1st & 2nd
instar nymphs

These nymphs are newly hatched termites that have not yet assumed a colony function. They can molt into different castes: workers, primary reproductives, or supplementary reproductives.

Soldiers

Soldiers are sterile, wingless, and blind. Their sole function is to defend the colony.

Winged
Reproductives

These termites can leave the colony and swarm to a new location, where they shed their wings, pair up and start new colonies.

Those “ants” might be termites.

Termites have been an important part of the earth’s ecological system for many millions of years. They infest dead wood and dying trees and speed up the natural cycle of deterioration—allowing for new growth to begin.

  • Winged ants have two pairs of wings with the front pair larger than the hind pair, while both pairs of termite wings are the same shape and size. 
  • Adult ants have elbowed antennae; termites have short, straight, beaded antennae.
  • Adult ants have a distinct constriction between body regions, termites have a gradual constriction. 
  • Don’t be fooled by color or size: ants and termites can vary both in size and color based on species. 
Ants versus termites

Types of termites

Here are some types of termites you might see in your area.

Eastern Subterranean Termite

The Eastern subterranean termite is a problem for homeowners from southern Ontario in Canada, south throughout the Eastern United States, and as far west as Montana.

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Formosan Subterranean Termite

Formosan subterranean termites are especially vigorous, aggressive, and destructive subterranean termites. Formosans are one of several termite species that threaten homes and other structures in Hawaii and along the southeastern coastal areas of the continental United States.

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Western Subterranean Termite

The Western subterranean termite is a problem for homeowners in the western part of North America from British Columbia in Canada, south to western Mexico, and east as far as Idaho and Nevada.

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Desert Subterranean Termite

Desert subterranean termites are commonly distributed throughout the lower deserts of northwestern Mexico, southern California, and Arizona.

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Asian Subterranean Termite

Asian subterranean termites are an invasive species of termite located in southern Florida. They are a tropical species that can have large colonies and cause extensive damage to homes and other structures.

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Drywood Termite

Drywood termites do not require contact with the soil to live. They threaten homes in southern California, Arizona, Utah, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.

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