Termite Biology

Termites are social insects in that they live and work together in large colonies with each individual having a specific task to perform to enable the colony to function. These tasks can be divided into three main roles working, protecting and reproducing. Each task falls to different types (castes) of termite (ie: worker, soldier and reproductive,) with each caste having a specialized body shape and behavior to enable them to perform these tasks. The worker does as its name suggests and does so 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Workers build the nest and galleries, tend the eggs and young, gather food and feed the rest of the colony. Workers are wingless, sterile, blind and are white totranslucent in appearance.The soldiers are distinguished from other castes by theirheads, which are heavily armoured and coloured.They also are wingless, sterile and blind. Because theirmandibles are so specialised, soldiers must be fed by theworkers.The primary function of the soldier is to defend thecolony against predators such as ants. Soldiers rely onchemical as well as physical weapons. Some soldiers bite theirattacker whilst others spray or inject a poison. Some havestrongly built heads, which may be used as plugs to seal thenest from predators.The soldier caste is the most distinctive and is usually usedtidentify a particular species.