Eastern Subterranean Termites
Order: Isoptera
Family: Rhinotermitidae
Scientific Name: Reticulitermes
flavipes (Kollar)
The eastern subterranean termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, is the most common and widely distributed termite in North America. This wood-destroying insect is well known for its damage to urban dwellings and structures. Pest status is given to termites when a colony is foraging on food sources with economic value. However, this insect is beneficial when it infests dead wood in forests, providing nutrients for new vegetative growth.
Biology and Habits
Termites have simple metamorphosis: from egg to nymph to adult. As social insects, they have a division of labor through a caste system. The queen lays eggs, and the workers tend and feed the developing termites after egg hatch. Workers also construct and repair the nest, and forage for cellulose-containing food sources. Soldiers protect both the colony from nest invaders and the workers while outside the colony. The reproductive caste includes winged primary reproductives (alates) and wingless secondary reproductives. The latter are found in mature colonies and serve as replacements if something happens to the primary reproductives.
Property owners or inspectors usually see workers, soldiers, or swarmers (winged reproductives) during inspections. The queen normally does not leave the nest and is rarely seen. Workers are creamy white in color and lack compound eyes, or ocelli. Soldiers are also creamy white with a much enlarged head. Both have dark heads.
The alates have compound eyes and are brown to black in color. They are about 3/8" (10 mm) in length including the wings, and usually emerge simultaneously in large numbers from protective earthen tunnels. Their two pairs of wings are of equal length, a characteristic of the Order Isoptera (the prefix "iso" is from the Greek word "isos," which means "equal").
Alate swarming typically occurs in the spring during the daytime. After a brief flight, the swarmers break off their wings, pair off, and burrow into the soil through cracks and crevices. After mating occurs, the fertile queen begins to lay eggs, initiating a new termite colony.
Subterranean termites, as the name indicates, maintain contact with the soil in most circumstances. Vertical and horizontal earthen tubes are constructed from soil and excretions. Foraging workers, soldiers and alates travel inside these tubes to avoid desiccation due to unfavorable moisture and temperature conditions.
Capture-release-recapture studies indicate that workers may forage 350 feet away from the nest. Thus, a termite colony's foraging sites may encompass an acre of area. Colonies may be composed of over a million members.
Control
Inspections may reveal the presence of termite activity as well as indications of previous post-construction treatments. Currently, the common control technique involves placing a termiticide barrier between the termite colony and the wood of the structure. In addition, PCOs may treat galleries with different formulations, including dusts, aerosols and solutions. Always review the label before making any application.
Habitat alterations - such as eliminating all wood-to-soil contact, discarding wood and paper debris, and reducing the wood moisture content of wooden member below 15 percent - discourage infestations. Increased ventilation and structural modifications may be necessary to attain desired wood moisture content. When a constant source of moisture is available, secondary colonies can exist above ground without soil contact. Careful inspection will help reduce the likelihood of retreats.
(Courtesy of the National Pest Control Association.)