Termites are a type of insect that eats wood for a fuel source, and if allowed to get inside the walls of someone's home can do a lot of damage. They have hugely voracious appetites and can easily lay waste to a house or barn, therefore prompt action should be taken at the first sign of a termite infestation.
There are almost 40 currently known different species of termites located all around the globe. Several varieties of subterranean termites are white in color due to lack of sunlight from living underground. They are usually much smaller in size than most termites and live in burrows that can reach upwards of 45 feet deep. The burrows can extend for several hundred feet in different directions from a central egress point. When operating above ground these termites tend to build small tunnels of mud to protect themselves from the sun and predators.
There is another common variety of termite that builds mounds on top of the ground instead of burrowing beneath it. In coniferous forests you will find species of termites that live in trees and consume them, moving on once they have eaten all they can from their current host. The majority of termites are wingless, but there are a few subterranean species that sprout wings once a year in order to fly off and start new colonies.
Termites are often mistakenly thought of as part of the ant family. Although they exhibit a lot of the social sets of ants and sometimes live in similar surroundings, beyond that they do not share a lot of the same traits. Some of the more distinctive differences between the two are that ants have antennae that are elbowed and termites do not. Ants tend to be slender at the waist while termites aren't. Although carpenter ants will burrow into wood, they don't consume it like a termite will. As a matter of fact, scientists have recently determined termite DNA to be closer to that of a cockroach than that of an ant.
Termites are similar to ants in that they live in colonies and adhere to a strict hierarchy. At the center of the nest is the queen with the king in attendance. She can lay several million eggs in her lifetime. The remainder of her colony is divided into soldiers and workers. The soldiers are responsible for protecting the nest and the queen, while the workers take care of the nest upkeep, including any needed expansion. They also take care of the larvae, and are tasked with finding and bringing back cellulose to feed everyone.
When termites eat wood fiber they put out large amounts of methane gas as a byproduct of the digestion process. Some ponder if this may contribute to global warming, as methane is considered a green house gas. On the other hand, termites consume a lot of the downed trees and other foliage in woodland areas, which helps keep the fuel source down in times of forest fires. Although considered a pest by many, termites do serve an important ecological purpose.
Emily Taylor is a kindhearted individual who loves the outdoors; she spends most of her time lately working in her yard and tending to her garden if she isn?t writing for Birmingham mosquito control is a family owned business in Birmingham, AL specializing in getting rid of those unwanted house guests.
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