Understanding subterranean termites and colony castes

Hello, I'm Sophie, and I'm the entomologist here at the Global Science Center.

Today, I'll be talking to you about termites, specifically the subterranean species. There are different forms of termites. These are called castes.

The first are workers. These are the ones that you see most of the time because they are most abundant. They are normally white in color, soft-bodied, and are blind. Their primary role is to forage for food and water, maintain the colony structure, and to care for the immature stages.

Next, we have soldiers. They are distinct because they have big mandibles, which they can use to protect the colony from outside invaders and make sure there are no threats to the colony.

Next, we have alates or swarmers, as they're sometimes called. These are the reproductive individuals that will take flight once a year and reproduce to begin their new colony. They're distinctive because they have two pairs of identical wings.

Lastly, we have the king and queen. These came from the reproductives, and their primary role is to produce new individuals to lay eggs to make sure the colony grows in number.

Because termites live off a diet of cellulose and wood, they normally attack fallen wooden structures or any natural wood that they find in the environment.