Termites and Their Colonies
Home and Furnishings, Uncategorized
Termites are insects that live in large colonies, these colonies can range from several hundred to several million termites each. Termite nests are made out of a mixture of feces, saliva, chewed wood, mud, and soil. In tropical environments, you’ll find termite nests hanging in trees, up off the ground. In Africa the termites build large mounds that can easily grow above 5 feet tall. In the U.S. the termites are mostly subterranean, so their colonies are usually hidden completely out of sight. Some colonies build nests in the ground or in a large fallen tree. If a colony constructs a nest in a tree, they most likely will build termite shelter tubes leading to the ground and either to a piece of wood nearby or another nest. These tunnels help keep the termites safe and out of danger threatened by the surrounding environment. Termites like to stay close to and have easy access to their food sources. While they may pose a threat to buildings they are an important part of the ecosystem since they help to naturally recycle wood.
Termites are often mistaken for ants and sometimes referred to as “white ants”. They are relatively close to ants in the form of anatomy and colony structure. Each colony consists of younger termites, workers, soldiers, reproducing queen and king termites. The king termite stays with the queen termite, and the two of them with spawn thousands of termites over their lifetimes. The place and importance to the colony is determined upon gender specifications. Identifying a termite is very easy. They are usually white, some with wings and look very much like an ant. The queen can usually be spotted in the middle of the colony. She is much larger than the other termites and if you want to completely eliminate a termite colony, you need to make sure the queen termite is killed.
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