Termite (Adult)
Rhinotermitidae
1/8 in. Termite (Soldier)
Rhinotermitidae
1/8 in.
Termite (Worker)
Rhinotermitidae
1/8 in.
Winged termites are dark-bodied and have four long, many-veined, whitish wings of nearly equal size. The workers and soldiers are wingless and dirty-white in color. They have chewing mouthparts. Metamorphosis is gradual. Termites are medium-sized, social insects. Their colonies contain three castes - workers, soldiers, and swarmers (sexually mature kings and queens).
Termites sometimes are incorrectly called white ants, but they are very different from ants in both structure and metamorphosis. True ants, which belong to the order Hymenoptera, have an abdomen constricted (pinched in) just behind the thorax; termites do not.
Termites are one of the few animals that feed on wood. They are found in logs, stumps, fence posts, or sometimes in the timbers of buildings. It is here that they become a significant urban structural pest.
