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The very word termite can cause terror in the hearts of homeowners. Most people recognize that a single termite can cause significant damage to a structure and if you keep multiplying them with each other, you will soon find yourself not only in an extremely unsafe house but also a house which is dangerous to inhabit and all but impossible to sell. Although a lot of people know about termites, not many of them know about the specifics of this resilient insect.
The termite, also called as white ant, belongs to a group of insects which live socially, a lot like ants. They mostly live off dead plant material such as, leaf litter, soil and wood. A colony can cause a lot of damage to structures such as homes, forests, crops and other buildings.
The termites outwardly resemble ants and are referred to as a white ant only because of its appearance and its social behavior and the similarity in their size. Significantly, the termite is whiter, fatter, and softer, has smaller legs and is in general a much slower creature. In reality, termites resemble cockroaches’ more than regular ants. Some experts even believe that the termites deserve to be given a separate classification instead of being grouped together with ants as a member of the Hymemoptra class or in a super order which has all of them referred to as the Dictyoptera class.
The common termites have a large mouthpart used for biting and their bodies are almost never more than a centimeter in length. They usually inhabit dark tunnels and nests as a colony and only venture out into the open when winged alates leave the colony to form a new colony, or when building a shelter or when harvesting food if they are grass-feeders and leaf-litter feders. The alates are basically baby termites emerging out of their colony in new search of new feeding grounds.
Just like ants, termites live in colonies with a lot of other termites and this is the reason they are often called as social insects. A typical termite colony could have members ranging from a few hundreds to millions. They cooperate with each other and use their collective swarm intelligence to search for food to sustain their colony. They also have a fixed hierarchy in their society just like ants. The colony is lead by a queen termite and there are soldiers, workers, reproductive termites and nymphs each with their own unique tasks.
Although termites are dreaded by a lot of people, they can be easily recognized and controlled once you recognize that you probably have a termite infestation. Take your time to learn about the termite and look for the correct signs that indicate a termite problem. Now, if you undertake the necessary steps to mitigate your problem, you will find it much easier to control and repair the damage these insects can do.