Identification
Termites are six-legged insects with straight and pointing beady antennae. They don’t have a distinct segmentation in their body. Instead, their body structure is somewhat ribbed.
Their heads are large in comparison to the size of the body, which is either pale yellow or white. In a termite colony, there are workers, soldiers, and mature reproductive adults. The latter is dark brown in color and have fully developed wings.
Termites in Queens can deceptively look like flying ants. The differences between ants and termites significantly impact what kind of service you need to control them in your house.
Often, damage caused by termites is confused for a case of the carpenter or fire ant infestation, due to their similarities. While ants have bent antennae, the termites’ antennae are straight.
Termites also have wings of the same length; however, ants have wings of different lengths. The termite swarmers are only around one-fourth of an inch long, which is about the size of a pencil eraser.
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Dampwood Termites
These are some of the largest termites in the world and are around 25 millimeters in length. These termites have about twenty different species in the world.
They usually live in forests and make their nests in rotten and wet woods, usually on the forest floor. The workers of this type are pale milky white, while the darker colored soldiers have a brown head.
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Subterranean Termites
These termites are best known for their need to nest in contact with soil, although there are some exceptions.
The soldiers of this type of termites have ‘pronotum’ which is a flat area behind the head. This part can produce a kind of defensive fluid.
There are two subtypes of subterranean termites which are the Eastern Subterranean Termites and the Formosan Subterranean Termites.
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Nasutiform Termites
The Nasutiform termites are not actually harmful to your homes, rather they are beneficial to the ecosystem of the desert regions.
These termites build large mounds and are found in the tropical climates of Africa, Asia, Australia and some are also found in the North American deserts. The mounds that they make have been recorded to be as high as eight meters tall.