Page 82 - Florida Pest Control Examinations

DRYWOOD TERMITE SOLDIER DRYWOOD TERMITE

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

DRYWOOD PELLETS
TERMITE FRASS

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
1.Antenna- 10 to 11 segments 6.Thorax
2.Eyes- blind except alates/reproductives 7.Petiole- none DRYWOOD TERMITE
3.Head- large 8.Abdomen SOLDIER
4.Legs- 6 9.Color- orange or reddish brown 1 3 8
5.Wings- 2 pair, on alates only 10.Other- no worker caste
Life Cycle
A mated pair of winged adults will form a new colony once they drop the wings and enter a structure
through cracks or crevices in March through June of each year. The wings are longer than the
body, a sure sign that they are not ants. They look for bare wood and then create a chamber, where
they then mate and raise their brood. Eggs hatch in about 2 ½ months and become nymphs, false
workers, or soldiers. Nymphs can quickly take care of themselves, and will also tend to the queen 4
and king. The false workers will obtain food and tend the nest, while the soldiers, which have larger
heads, defend the nest from invaders. There is no true worker caste. A queen can live for 15 years,
during which the colony may grow to thousands of nymphs. A single structure can also be host to
multiple colonies. Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
DRYWOOD TERMITE
Actual size 1/5”
The Drywood termite looks just like the Subterranean termite, except that has shorter legs and
moves slowly, and it is more of a reddish brown color. Infestations of Drywood termites are just
about as damaging as Subterranean termites. Drywood termites will excavate large pockets
in the wood that they attack. They require no soil contact, and they can even infest dead limbs
on trees. Drywood termites do require a source of moisture. They are usually noticed from
the piles of fecal pellets that they eject from their kick-out holes. The pellets accumulate below
these holes.

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