Termite Castes

Termite Queens

As a distinguishing feature of termite colonies, the queen lays the eggs. She is the supreme mother. The colony started when the first queen and her king chose a place to shed their wings and set up housekeeping. Before that they were flying around in a big party called a swarm. When the swarm breaks up, a...

Termite Kings

There may be a lot to admire about the way reproductive termite kings conduct their lives. No need to wonder that they are called kings. In their youth, they develop and grow wings and then become caught up in the social whirl called swarming. In most swarms there are substantially more males than females,...

Termite Workers

You wouldn’t like the kind of job termite workers do. You leave home on the run and when you get to the job you chew on the walls. When get full of sawdust, you run home and vomit in front of your mother or among her newly hatched eggs. Then you run back to the job, eat some more wood and run back home,...

Termite Soldiers

There are over 2500 known species of termites in the world and the main way to distinguish one species from another is by the appearance of the soldiers. Kings might look similar to other kings; queens might look similar to other queens; and workers might resemble other workers; but soldiers show...

Termite Swarmers (Alates)

A Dampwood Termite Swarmer The social season for termites may depend on the rainy season, the time of the year, or the size of the colony, depending on the species (there are over 2500 kinds of termites). This social season is visible to mankind in the form of swarms of flying termites. They are among the...