Archive for September, 2009

The soldier termites

The soldier caste is responsible for defending and protecting the colony from enemies (which are mainly ants). They have protruding jaws and larger, armored heads than the workers, which are often a shade of yellow, orange, brown, or red. The soldiers of some species have snouts instead of jaws in which they squirt a repellent [...]

The worker termites

The worker termites are the main caste of the termite colony. When a new reproductive pair of alates has settled down and the queen has started laying eggs, worker termites are always the first brood to emerge from the eggs. In some species there are 2 (sometimes even 3) size versions; a major variant (which [...]

The colony structure of termites

Termites live in well structured social systems, much like ants. There is a queen, a king, workers, and soldiers. Some species may have several queens and kings, but generally, most colonies are ruled by a single queen and a male king, while the rest of the workers and soldiers are sterile males and females. Unlike [...]

Termite identification

Termites may be called “white ants”, but actually, termites can also be black in color. Termites are found in a wide range of colors depending on species. There are nearly 3000 species of termites in the world, but scientists cannot be sure of the actual figure, because most species are found in the tropics and [...]

Introduction to termites

Termites. Most people loath termites because of their reputation. But termites have been around on the earth for a very long time, and are essential to many habitats and ecosystems – Far longer than most creatures on earth today. Known as “white ants” to some folks, termites are most numerous in the tropics, but they [...]