Life And Times Of The Termite Queen
It probably comes as no surprise that a termite queen is by far the biggest member of a termite colony. We don't often see termite queens, except when they are in flight, and when that is occurring they have yet to mate and look much like any other winged termite.
Once the termite queen mates however, changes begin to occur, and if the average termite could be compared to a tiny automobile, the termite queen would resemble a much longer and much wider tractor-trailer. The front portion of the termite queen, the head and the thorax, appears much the same as most others in the colony, though slightly larger, but the abdomen very large and extended.
Unlike some other insect species, a colony that may consist of thousands, or even millions of termites, will often have several queens that lay eggs, although a termite queen is capable of laying several thousand a day and several million during her lifetime. There are also termite kings who often, though not always, mate with a specific queen for life. Most termite kings and queens in the colony do not mate however.
The Queen Moves About - When you see termites in the open, they are very often flying termites. These termites are all kings and queens and are usually in the process of trying to establish new colonies. The flying termite looks much like a flying ant, one of the major differences being that the two pair of the termites wings are of equal lengths, while the two pair of the ant's wings are of unequal length. Termites are of the order Isoptera, which means "equal wings".
There are several thousand different termite species around the globe, around 40 of which live in North America. Most of the termite species living in the United States live in the southeastern part of the country where the warm, humid weather is to their liking. Most of the termite damage done to homes is in that part of the country.
Termites are noted for being very destructive, but serve a beneficial purpose as well, keeping the forest floor cleaned of litter and decaying wood. Termites can also be beneficial in farmland. They eat only dead or decaying plant material, so do not harm crops, but they do help keep many insect pests, those that do damage crops, under control.
The Queen Settles Down - Once a female termite has flown, mated and begin producing eggs, she is known as a termite queen. There are other classes of termites in the colony, including the king, workers, and soldier termites. There will often be a number of kings and queens, especially in large colonies, but most do not mate or lay eggs though some do. Once the queen begins to lay eggs and her abdomen begins to distend, she begins to lose some of her mobility, and soon needs to rely on worker termites to provide her with food, and help her move about, which they do, often for years on end.
Termites are rather fascinating creatures and unless a colony is found in a structure or close to a structure, it is probably best left alone as the termites are most likely doing more good than harm. Once established in your home however, a termite colony can consume several cubic inches of wood in a year's time, enough to weaken many structures, and one should have no feelings of guilt when destroying the colony. Somewhere else a termite queen is laying a thousand eggs a day, so the species, who have been around a few million years, are not in danger of dying out any time soon.