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Termite facts for kids

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Termite
Temporal range: Upper Triassic – Recent
Coptotermes formosanus shiraki USGov k8204-7.jpg
Formosan subterranean termite soldiers (red colored heads) and workers (pale colored heads).
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Subclass:
Pterygota
Infraclass:
Neoptera
Superorder:
Dictyoptera
Order:
Isoptera
Termite Cathedral DSC03570
Some termites build large structures like these where they live

Termites are an order of social insects, the Isoptera. They are sometimes called "white ants", incorrectly, because ants belong to the Order Hymenoptera.

They are eusocial animals, as are ants and some bees and wasps. Termites mostly feed on detritus, mostly wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung. There are an estimated 4,000 species (about 2,600 taxonomically known). About 10% are pests which can cause serious structural damage to buildings, crops or plantation forests.

Termites are major detrivores in the subtropical and tropical regions. Their recycling of wood and other plant matter is very important for ecology.

A termite colony starts when winged termites (called alates) swarm and mate. After mating, they fall to the ground and rip off their wings. The female looks for a good place to start the colony, and the male follows her. Most termites nest underground their entire lives, but termites in Africa and Australia actually build really big mound structures that look like little mountains and can be more than 20 feet tall (see photo below).

Termites live in colonies that, at maturity, hold from several hundred to several million individuals. They are a prime example self-organised systems which use swarm intelligence. They use this cooperation to exploit food sources and environments which would not be available to any single insect acting alone. A typical colony contains nymphs (semi-mature young), workers, soldiers, and reproductive individuals of both genders, sometimes containing several egg-laying queens.

Images for kids

  • The giant northern termite is the most primitive living termite. Its body plan has been described as a cockroach's abdomen stuck to a termite's fore part. Its wings have the same form as roach wings, and like roaches, it lays its eggs in a case.

    The external appearance of the giant northern termite Mastotermes darwiniensis is suggestive of the close relationship between termites and cockroaches.

  • Reticulitermes flavipes worker

    Close-up view of a worker's head

  • ZooKeys-148-105-g003 Parastylotermes krishnai

    Diagram showing a wing, along with the clypeus and leg

  • Termites polymorphism

    Caste system of termites A — King B — Queen C — Secondary queen D — Tertiary queen E — Soldiers F — Worker

  • A termite nymph looks like a smaller version of an adult but lacks the specialisations that would enable identification of its caste.

    A young termite nymph. Nymphs first moult into workers, but others may further moult to become soldiers or alates.

  • Hundreds of winged termite reproductives swarming after a summer rain, filling the field of the photograph.

    Flying termites after rain

  • A dense pile of termite faecal pellets, about 10 centimeters by 20 centimeters by several centimeters in height, which have accumulated on a wooden shelf from termite activity somewhere above the frame of this photograph.

    Termite faecal pellets

  • Crab Spider (Thomisidae) and Winged Termite prey (12640038823)

    Crab spider with a captured alate

  • Megaponera analis major killing macrotermes soldier

    A Matabele ant (Megaponera analis) kills a Macrotermes bellicosus termite soldier during a raid.

  • Termites (Nasutitermes sp.) (8439859723)

    Hordes of Nasutitermes on a march for food, following, and leaving, trail pheromones

  • To demonstrate termite repair behaviour, a hole was bored into a termite nest. Over a dozen worker termites with pale heads are visible in this close-up photo, most facing the camera as they engage in repair activities from the inside of the hole. About a dozen soldier termites with orange heads are also visible, some facing outwards from the hole, others patrolling the surrounding area.

    Termites rush to a damaged area of the nest.

  • Nasute termite soldiers

    Nasute termite soldiers on rotten wood

  • The Western Underground Orchid lives completely underground. It is unable to photosynthesize, and it is dependent on underground insects such as termites for pollination. The flower head shown is only about 1.5 centimetres across. Dozens of tiny rose-coloured florets are arranged in a tight cluster, surrounded by petals that give the flower the appearance of a pale miniature tulip.

    Rhizanthella gardneri is the only orchid known to be pollinated by termites.

  • Megaponera analis raid collecting termites

    An ant raiding party collecting Pseudocanthotermes militaris termites after a successful raid

  • Photograph of an arboreal termite nest built on a tree trunk high above ground. It has an ovoid shape and appears to be larger than a basketball. It is dark brown in colour, and it is made of carton, a mixture of digested wood and termite faeces that is strong and resistant to rain. Covered tunnels constructed of carton can be seen leading down the shaded side of the tree from the nest to the ground.

    An arboreal termite nest in Mexico

  • Photo taken upwards from ground level of shelter tubes going up the shaded side of a tree. Where the main trunk of the tree divides into separate major branches, the shelter tube also branches. Although the nests are not visible in this photo, the branches of the shelter tube presumably lead up to polycalic sister colonies of the arboreal termites that built these tubes.

    Nasutiterminae shelter tubes on a tree trunk provide cover for the trail from nest to forest floor.

  • Termite damage

    Termite damage on external structure

  • House stumps eaten by termites

    Termite damage in wooden house stumps

  • Collecting Ngumbi

    Mozambican boys from the Yawo tribe collecting flying termites

  • Termites marked with traceable protiens

    Scientists have developed a more affordable method of tracing the movement of termites using traceable proteins.

  • Eastgate Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe

    The pink-hued Eastgate Centre

  • RayNorris termite cathedral mounds

    Cathedral mounds in the Northern Territory, Australia

  • Termite Magnetic DSC03613

    Mounds of "compass" or "magnetic" termites (Amitermes) oriented north-south, thereby avoiding mid-day heat

  • Termitenhuegel

    Termite mound in Queensland, Australia

  • Termites in a mound

    Termites in a mound, Analamazoatra Reserve, Madagascar

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Isoptera para niños

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