Termites are small, soft bodied, pale-colored insects. Termites of the genus Reticulitermes are subterranean where they feed primarily on damp wood and wood debris. They do feed on wood found above ground by creating a connection or tunnel between the soil and the wood they are eating. These connections look like small tunnels of soil running from the ground to the wood.
Once the termites find damp wood they will begin to carve out “galleries.” These galleries distinguish this species from others, Reticulitermes will only cut with the grain of the wood.
Termites are social insects that live in a caste system. This species is usually divided up into four types of termites. The Primary reproductives (King and Queen) have dark bodies, compound eyes and wings; secondary reproductive adults with pale bodies, wing buds and compound eyes; workers with pale bodies, lacking compound eyes and wings; and soldiers with pale bodies, large jaws, and no wings. Both the soldiers and workers are sterile.
The workers perform the main work of the colony. They collect food, feed the queen, soldiers and young and construct the galleries. The soldiers are the defenders of the colony protecting others with their large mandibles.
Many animals have a very keen sense of smell. They may use chemicals known as pheromones, which are chemical messengers that affect the behavior of other individual of the same species. There are many types of pheromones used by animals, including termites, which include attractant (sex), signaling (alarm) and marking (trail) pheromones. Termites use trail pheromones to mark a trail which is followed by other workers. Each individual deposits a small amount of pheromone as they travel along a trail to signal to the other workers where to go.
RELATED LAB ACTIVITY
In the Termite Trails: Following the Ink lab activity you will be observing how the Eastern Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes, reacts to certain inks. Some of these inks contain chemicals very similar to the trail pheromones used by Reticulitermes.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Although termites are beneficial insects in nature, by breaking down dead wood and returning nutrients to the soil, they cause nearly one billion dollars of damage to wooden structures each year.
- Termites live in colonies that are either underground, up to 20 feet, or in mounds up to 12 feet high.
- Termites are sometimes also known as white ants, but they are actually quite different. Termites are relatively primitive; they have thick waists and soft bodies and undergo incomplete metamorphosis. However, they have developed remarkable patterns of social behavior that are almost as elaborate as those of the ants, social bees, and wasps.
- The queen of a termite colony may lay 6-7,000 eggs per day and live 15 to 50 years.
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