Some people do not know the difference between ants and termites. Many homeowners find termite infestations and think their home is destroyed. This is not the problem if you have all the information about termites and practice monthly inspections of your apartment and property for termites.
Before battling the termites in your home, it’s essential that you get to know your wood-eating enemy. Learning everything you can about termites will help you understand these creatures so you can formulate better strategies to eradicate them from your property. When you finish reading some crucial facts and information about termites, you can fight the war with the rest of us against termites.
Below Are Some Ten “10” Interesting Facts About The Termites:
- The Termites Do Not Sleep. They eat all day long, every single day. This 24/7 operation makes them very efficient in getting rid of decaying wood in the forest, but this activity is deemed very destructive when the food they are foraging on are the wooden parts of the home.
- The Lifespan Of The Termites Can Vary. The termite queen can survive anywhere from 20-50 years. The non-reproductive members can last for only a couple of years. The individual termite colonies have been known to exist for up to one century.
- There Is One King And Queen In The Termite Colony. This pair secretes pheromones that inhibit the reproductive development of their other termite members. The queen lays eggs every 15 seconds.
- Worker And Soldier Termites Are Both Male And Female. They are usually wingless, and the majority of them are blind. They are also sterile due to the inhibitory pheromones released by the king and queen termites. There are special soldiers and workers whose function is to care for the eggs and the young.
- Termites Feed On Each Other’s Feces. Termites have a special bacteria in the guts to help them digest cellulose (the though plant fibers), but they are not born with these bacteria, when they are young they eat others feces to obtain a supply of microorganisms to aid in this digestion.
- Soldier Termites Are Mainly The Defenders Of The Colony. The use of their prominent mandibles to decapitate intruders such as ants. For some termite species with no soldier termites, the nymphs and workers act as the defenders of the colony.
- Termites Have An Emergency Alert. When a termite in a colony is alerted to a threat, they bang their heads against the wall of the nest to alert other termites to the danger.
- Termites Mostly Communicate Through Chemical Cues. Termites, like many other creatures in the animal kingdom use pheromones. These particular chemical scents allow them to know who has been where and why and provides for a more orderly society.
- Kings And Queens Can Fly. Kings and Queens of Termite colonies have wings and can fly! Once mature they fly out of their nest (often in large swarms) find a mate and settle down to build their colony.
- Termites Have Been On This Earth For Millions Of Years. Termite and cockroaches share a common ancestor in an insect from 300 million years ago. Scientists have found fossilized specimens that date back to over 100 million years ago!
