Facts About Termites

Termites are found all around the world. And in North America, there are different kinds of termites found from the Pacific coast all the way to Maine. However, you probably won't find their huge nests anywhere in the city. Termites usually build nests in tropical rainforests or dry branches, such as places in Meixco. They do live in trees or woods, so if you ever start to notice chipping in the wood on your house, it would be best to contact a bug exterminator.

The two main termites are called, the worker and the soldier. You can tell the difference between the two by looking at the color of their heads. The soldiers have a red colored head, while the worker has a pale colored head. Both of their bodies are a light yellow or cream color, though they distinctively range in sizes. The king and queen of the termites, are usually about an inch long, while the workers are about half an inch.

The most popular termite in North America, that actually makes up ninety percent of the infestation of termite species, is called the subterranean termite. This termite is completely black, with long white wings. Sometimes it can be difficult to tell them apart from ants with wings, so you have to look at the body weight of them. Termites have thicker waists and straight antennas, where as the ants have thin waists and elbowed antennas.

Another popular kind of termite in North America is called the Drywood termite swarmer. They usually stay in a dry climate such as New Mexico and western Texas. The Swarmer's have red colored bodies and black wings. They look a lot like carpenter ants that mostly reside in Florida, so many people can get these termites confused with different species of ants also. And though there are different kinds of species of termites all around the world, they are commonly brought to new habitats due to people loading boats with wood that has termites hidden in it.

Though seeing the workers and soldiers may be common, you will very rarely see the king and queen of the colony, due to their nest being very deep within the colony. They are protected well by the soldier termites, and don't ever come out to the outside.