Characteristics
Three primary caste:
Reproductives
Drywood termites have swarmers or alates that vary in body color. These reproductives can be dark brown to light yellow-tan. Their wings have an almost clear to smokey gray that contains distinctive veins. Reproductives are about 7/16 inches long including their wings. The main reproductives are the king and queen, however, they can be replaced by immature secondary reproductives in the case that they die.
Workers
Immature workers are wingless with ¼ to 3/8 of an inch in size. They are also white to beige in color. The immature workers make up the majority of the colony. The main tasks of the workers are to gather food, enlarge the nest,and feed and take care of the queen, young immatures, and other members of the colony.
Soldiers
Soldiers, on the other hand, look the same as the workers, but are larger than them and have a brownish to yellowish-brownish head with enlarged, heavily sclerotized mandibles, and are 5/16 of an inch long.
Habitat
Drywood termites are considered social insects since they survive by living within a colony. Their colonies are placed inside sound, dry wood. They can create nests in roof materials and wooden wall supports. Although their name suggest drywood, they can still create nests in areas where a water source is available. They can create their nests around a leaky pipe or on a water heater. Homes that have dead wood can also be a good habitat for these termites.
The first sign of a drywood termite infestation are pellets. Pellets are created by termites and are usually removed from their galleries through “kick holes”.
Behavior
Unlike other termite species, drywood termites do not rely on moisture to survive. They do not even need soil contact to be able to create their nests. They just need to extract enough water from their wood source to be able to survive. They can also produce water on their own during their digestive process.
They do not live underground, do not need to maintain contact with the soil, and do not build mud tubes.
Food
Drywood termites prefer to eat wood as their main source of nutrition. They have the ability to break down wood particles and absorb the wood. Workers will distribute their food by providing the king and queen with enough food, then their alates, solders, and their youngs.
Life Cycle
Drywood termites create winged alates or swarmers that will leave the colony once the colony matures so they can create their own colony. Swarming activities mostly happen at dusk or during the night. They are attracted to light and may be seen hovering around lampposts or lights outside the house. They may even get inside a home and fly over the nearest light that they can find.
While there may be hundreds of swarmers searching for mates, only a small number of them will survive to create new colonies. Those who are able to find a mate will immediately find a suitable nesting site, preferably a wood. The surviving reproductives, which are now the new king and queen of a starting colony, will create a very small nest so that the queen can start laying her first batch of eggs. The main task of the king is to maintain periodic mating so that the queen can continue egg development.
After several weeks, the first batch of immature will hatch, which the king and queen will take care of. After two molts, the immature will become workers and will start serving the royal couple by providing them food and taking care of them. The first year is a slow year for the queen since her maturity is not full. She will not continuously deposit eggs during her first year, but she will deposit a few eggs. After the first year, and once the queen is fully mature, she will start laying more eggs until she cannot do it any longer. The colony will begin to stabilize once the queen reaches her maximum egg production. A grown colony will have eggs, immature, soldiers, and reproductives. And, even when the queen or king dies, the colony will still survive since they have already created secondary reproductives that can replace them and take their duties. Unlike subterranean termites, their colony is small and made up of only a few thousand individuals, and the development of their colony is slow.
Other Information and Tips
Knowing if a home has termites may be difficult since it is hard to find external damage created by these pests. When an external damage is exposed, it could also mean that the damage is already severe. However, there are some simple indications that the wood is already being consumed even without seeing the workers themselves. For instance, the presence of fecal pellets that are made underneath the infested area, or the appearance of tiny holes in the surface of wood can show the presence of termites. In most cases, homeowners will notice the presence of a termite infestation once the colony has already matured. Treatment for drywood termites may include fumigation or wood injection that your local termite control specialist can perform to totally eradicate these pests.
If a termite infestation occurs, contact your local termite control specialist.