Dry Wood Termites

Cryptotermes spp.

Appearance

Dry Wood Termites
  • Larvae – 1mm long, translucent white.
  • Soldiers – 5mm pale thorax and abdomen with a darker head .
  • Adults – bodies up to 7mm, or 11mm including wings .

Lifecycle

  • The winged adults (alates) emerge from the nest and swarm. After a short flight, they land and shed their wings .
  • Once the females attract a male they seek a suitable site, e.g. a crack in a dry timber beam, and begin to excavate a chamber.
  • They do not mate until they are sealed into their nest. Mating occurs throughout the life of the colony.
  • The development of the colony is slow and after 1 year, the King and Queen may only have produced 3 or 4 larvae.
  • The larvae develop into workers, soldiers or alates.

Habits

  • They infest dry timber, e.g. structural timbers.
  • They expand their nests by eating through timber in all directions; eventually leaving just a hollow, yet otherwise normal appearing piece of timber.
  • They are most frequently detected by the frass that is ejected from the infected timber.