Despite being commonly known as "white ants", termites are not really ants at all. They are most closely related to the cockroach and belong to the insect order of Isoptera (from the Greek iso = equal, ptera = wings). This refers to the adult reproductive caste, which possesses two pairs of equal length wings. The word "termite" is derived from the Greek word terma, which means the end, hence the word termination. The proper translation into English would be "a complete destroyer".
Like ants, wasps and bees, termites are social insects. They live in colonies which are comprised of three basic castes: workers, soldiers and reproductives.
Workers comprise the bulk of the population. They have no eyes and usually work underground, in dark places and are very sensitive to light. They dig tunnels, which can reach up to one hundred metres from the nest (in urban areas), locate food and water, and build and repair the nest. But, their main function is to feed the other castes. They are the only ones that can process wood, which they pass on to the other termites in semi- digested liquid form.
Soldiers provide colony defence against numerous predators such as ants and centipedes. They are normally darker have an orange "armour-plated" head with strong big jaws which they use to crush their attackers. Although they are small in numbers compared to the worker population, they are usually the first ones to be seen when termites are found, as they rush to protect the workers from any danger. Finding the soldiers helps in identifying the species of termites.
Reproductives, also called alates, are winged termites. Once a nest is large and established, it can produce and emit thousands of alates. They can be seen around dusk in summer flying in swarms. Once they land, they shed their wings, find a mate, establish a new nest, and become the king and queen of the colony or, Primary Reproductives.
The queens can vary in size, depending on the species, growing up to 10 mm, with a large abdomen that can produce up to one thousand eggs a day. Because of their size, they are practically immobile and are constantly fed and attended by the workers and a relatively small king.
A number of other pairings may form in a colony, Secondary Reproductives, but lay dormant until one of the primary reproductives dies, in which case they take their place.
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The most common types of termites found in Sydney are the Subterranean Termites. They are highly destructive and can cause major damage to residential and commercial timber constructions. They are ferocious eaters and can eat through a whole house in just three months.
