Termites

Pale-colored, soft-bodied social insects with equal-sized wings. They live primarily in underground colonies.
Termite colonies consist of:
- Primary reproductives - Function of reproducing and laying eggs
- Secondary reproductives
- Soldiers - defend the colony / nest from invaders
- Workers - forage for food and feed their nutrients to the rest of the colony
Colony sizes are variable and can easily reach over one million termites
Termites are constantly foraging for food. Workers will leave a pheromone trail while they are foraging. This trail allows other termites to also locate the food source.
Termites eat material that contains cellulose, such as wood, roots, plant debris, paper or cardboard. Termites have protozoa in their hindgut; it helps them to break down the cellulose into usable nutrients. If these protozoa are removed from the digestive tract, the termite will eventually die of starvation because it can no longer break down the cellulose. The nutrients are passed throughout the colony by trophallaxis - an exchange of secretions or partially digested food between termite workers and other colony members.
Termites can gain entrance into a structure through any part of the wood frame in contact with the ground, through openings in the foundation around pipes and conduits or through cracks in the foundation. Termites can enter through cracks that are no wider than 1/64 of an inch.
Subterranean termites require moisture to survive. They will create mud tubes to obtain access to a structure that is above ground. These tubes are created from soil cemented with secretions and fecal material. The tubes are to protect the termites from exposure to sunlight or dry conditions. Termites are able to survive in a structure without contact to the ground if there is a sufficient moisture source.

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