Male/Female/Winged/Queen In Termites World

Termites are social insects which work in colonies together which use a caste system to determine the different roles of the different castes of termites. All varieties of termites contain a kind, queen, workers, soldiers and flying reproductive termites which are also referred to as alates. These fie castes of termites found within a colony distinguish their roles which they will play in the survival of their species and the colony.  All of the different castes of termites have distinguishing features which allow them to be able to be told apart by someone who is trained to recognize these differences. 

     The queen and the king occupy a cell within the colony where they will stay with their sole purpose in life being to continue laying eggs and reproducing so that the colony can continue to grow in size. The initial eggs are cared for by the king and queen before they then mature into one of the four types of castes which are found within a termite colony. Once the workers within the colony are established, this role of caring for the eggs until they reach the nymph stage is carried out by the workers of the colony. Once nymphs mature, their roles are then established to a winged reproductive, a supplementary reproductive, a worker or a soldier.

     Supplementary reproductive termites do not have wings and are capable of reproducing within the colony in the event that something happens to the queen or perhaps simply to ensure that the size of the colony is enlarged. Winged reproductive termites are the type of termites which are known to swarm and will often be seen in the spring months coming from colonies which are already matured. These reproductive termites mind a mate where they then shed their wings and find somewhere to burrow with a mate and begin the formation of a new colony of termites.

Soldier termites are the largest group within a termite colony and are responsible for protecting the colony from threats or predators which may harm the colony. One of the biggest threats to a termite colony is ants and soldier termites are able to defend the colony from this threat using their strong jaws and armored heads which are designed for this purpose. Most species of soldier termites typically range in color from a pale yellow to a pale brown. Soldier termites’ sole purposes are to protect the colony and are not even able to feed themselves; this task is taken care of by the worker termites.

     Worker termites make up the largest percentage of a termite colony and are responsible for undertaking most of the crucial tasks within the colony. These are the termites which are commonly found within the wooden structures wreaking havoc on a home or other wood structure. These worker ants are blind and use their antennae to navigate around the colony. Some of the many duties which the worker termites are responsible for within the colony is to locate food and bring it back to the colony, construct the tunnels within the colony, and caring for the other castes such as the eggs, nymphs and soldier termites.