Appearance: Four "castes" of a termite colony: Worker: approximately one-forth of an inch long, light colored, wingless; Soldier: elongated head with mandibles; Supplementary Reproductives: wingless or very short, non-functional wings; light colored; Swarmers: winged, and darker than other members; caste most often seen by homeowners.
Termite Swarmer
| Termite Worker
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Habits: Live in colonies underground, from which they build tunnels in search of food; able to reach food above the level of the ground by building mud tubes. They need to stay in contact with the soil in order to survive.
Diet: Wood and other cellulose material.
Reproduction: Different rates of growth from egg stage to adult depend on individual species; one queen per colony, which can lay tens of thousands of eggs in her lifetime, but most eggs are laid by supplementary reproductives in an established colony.
Other Information: Termites cause more damage to homes in US than storms and fire combined; colonies can contain up to 1,000,000 members.
