Eastern Subterranean Termites Winged Reproductives. Photo by Gary Alpert,Harvard University, bugwood.org.
The eastern subterranean termite is the most common termite found in the eastern United States and the most destructive pest to its buildings. If you have termites in the eastern US, it’s very likely that you’ve got these guys in your wood. They live underground and construct galleries and tunnels in wood and soil.
These are a native termite species and very important nutrient recyclers in nature. That’s why they’re so good at destroying your house. They’re niche is converting all of that cellulose in wood into food and eventually back into the soil where it can be reused. Very few animals are capable of digesting dense cellulose. Termites are able to do it thanks to a special collection of protists and bacteria in their guts that are symbiants of termites. Without these microbial partners to digest that cellulose, termites will starve to death even though they can continue feeding. They acquire and maintain these microorganisms by trophalaxis (exchanging anal liquids).
While termites are popularly known as “white ants,” termites are not actually closely related to ants. In spite of the soft white ant-like appearance of worker nymphs, they are actually closely related to cockroaches. They appear to have evolved about 200 million years ago during the late Permian, making their highly social society the first of its kind.
Indeed, termites are extremely social, another similiarity to ants, bees, and wasps. They live in castes of winged reproductives, workers, and soldiers. Unlike bees and wasps, however, both sexes are equally represented across these castes. The sterile workers are the pale soft-bodied termites often seen throughout termite infested wood. These guys are capable of further developing into a more specialized soldier form or instar that features are huge head, large antennae, and small eyes.
Worker Eastern Subterranean Termite. Photo by Gary Alpert, Harvard University, Bugwood.org
Whether a termite remains a worker or becomes a specialized soldier can occur as late as the third moult of the insect. However, whether a termite is going to be a reproductive or not is usually determined as early as the initial moult.
There are about forty species of termites in the United States, and they are the most destructive pests of wood in the country. They aren’t equally pestiferous across the country, however. For instance, this eastern subterranean species isn’t evenly distributed across its range. It is a much more serious pest in the southeast than the northeast or even mid-Atlantic states, because temperature is a limiting factor for termites.
The eastern subterranean termite is a terrific example of a highly social insect. It relies on microbial partners to digest its food and plays an important recycling role in forested ecosystems. Nevertheless, it is a serious pest that you definitely do not want chewing through your floors and walls.
