Termite Facts

Termites have been blamed for their destructive ways with wood. However, what they do is really just their way to make a living. Wood and cellulose-based products are their main source of food. Termites are highly destructive pests, capable of costing an unsuspecting homeowner thousands of dollars a year just on repairs. Here are some interesting and even fascinating termite facts that can help in understanding how to control these insects:

Termites, termites everywhere

Termites are very old creatures - they have been in existence for over 200 million years. Termites belong to the order Isoptera, with species belonging to 7 different families, with one family having as many as 295 species. There are approximately 2,800 species of termites known.

Termites are social insects, living as colonies which can range in number from a few hundreds to millions of individual insects. They are highly self-organized and rely on swarm intelligence in order to work together, find food and survive.

Termite castes

Although essentially decentralized, termites have a hierarchy which is based mainly on function. This helps address the needs of the colony. The hierarchy consists of the reproductives, the soldiers and the workers.

The reproductives are winged male and female termites, whose only purpose is to mate and produce young termites. A colony usually has one primary pair, called the king and the queen. The queen, which measures several times larger than other termites, produce eggs. She is capable of laying as many as 2,000 daily.

The queen molds periodically, at the same time producing another set of her ovaries. This in turn expands her abdomen, which explains its distended appearance.

The king and the queen are monogamous.

The soldiers are the defenders of the colony. Because of this function, they generally have enlarged jaws - so large sometimes that they have to be fed by worker termites because they can’t feed themselves. They protect the colony from invaders, particularly ants.

The workers are the hardest working of the termite castes, working non-stop day-in and day-out to find food, feed the termites and care for the eggs. They are also the most destructive. If you find termites in your home, they are bound to be workers.

Termite food

Although most people think that termites only live on wood, they do actually consume dead plant materials, such as soil and dead leaves. They are also known to feed on animal dung. But since they love wood so much, they do inevitably find their way into homes where humans live and work, causing serious damage. They also eat trees, plants and crops.

When termites destroy your home, it’s nothing personal. They cannot differentiate between wood in your home and wood found in some secluded forest.

Termite living

Termites build nests, which are called termitaries. People commonly refer to these mounds as ant hills, even though termites aren’t ants. Termitaries can grow up to 30 feet in some areas. These are highly complex systems of tunnels and cells, providing protection for the termites and a place with which to raise young termites.

Termite trouble

Termites have caused more damage to homes and properties than hurricanes, floods, wind storms and tornadoes combined. This is the type of damage for which home owners cannot buy insurance for.

The use of termites

They may be pests but termites are an important part of the ecological system. They are detrivores, capable of recycling plant and wood material, thus contributing to the health of the soil and in effect, of the surrounding plant life.