Unlike the Subterranean termite, they do not require any contact with
the soil. They live in un decayed wood with a low moisture content.
Individuals are in distinct forms or castes - reproductives, workers, and soldiers. Each performs a separate biological function. Only the reproductives are winged (4 wings). Their are no workers in the drywood termite group - instead the young reproductives and soldiers serve as workers until they mature. The vast majority in the colony is the worker caste and the workers and the reproductives have chewing mouthparts especially adapted for chewing wood. It is the workers who do the wide-spread destruction. The soldiers have powerful mandibles to attack their enemies (usually ants). Male and Female reproductives up to 1/2 inch long. Bodies soft and cylindrical in shape, usually pale brown in color;
six legged; they have compound eyes and chewing type mouthparts. During
the winged stage there are 4 equal size wings that extend longer than
the body by 1/8-1/4 inch. Soldier 3/8 inch;
Wood and occasionally other cellulose materials. They eat wood in houses,
utility poles, furniture and dying trees. They can not digest the cellulose
directly. They have other microorganisms (protozoans and bacteria) in
their stomachs that help break down the cellulose which then can be
digested by their own metabolism.
They live in small social colonies in dry wood. They mate and fly to new dry wood areas; enter a small hole in the wood and start to form a colony.In the first year, colony size may be only around 50 . After 4 years, there may be as many as 700 individuals in one colony. At this time, the colony may swarm to start the cycle over again. After 15 years, the colony will have grown to approximately 3,000 individuals. They do not need a source of water and live off of the water that is produced from the digestion of the cellulose.
They infest dry, un decayed wood, including structural lumber as well as dead limbs of native trees and shade and orchard trees, utility poles, posts, and lumber in storage. The Drywood variety have a low moisture requirement and can tolerate
dry conditions for prolonged periods. They remain entirely above ground
and do not connect their nests to the soil. From these areas, winged reproductives seasonally migrate to nearby buildings and other structures usually on sunny days during fall months. This type is usually found in the humid coastal and subtropical regions
(i.e. California, Hawaii, Florida, Arizona, South and North Carolina,
New Mexico, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Puerto Rico).
They usually infest attic spaces or exterior wood members exposed to
them when they swarm in early spring or summer.
1. Shed wings 2. Ejected pellets 3. Galleries inside wood are typical signs of a drywood termite infestation. 4. Swarming ants are many times confused with termites, but their differences are easy to recognize. At: Differences between ants and termites ,you will find a list and chart showing you the difference. 5. Piles of their fecal pellets, which are distinctive in appearance,
may be a clue to their presence. 
Picture from: © 1996 The Regents of the University of California Fecal pellets of drywood and dampwood termites. are elongate (about 0.03 inch long) with rounded ends and have six flattened or roundly depressed surfaces separated by six longitudinal ridges.
Treatment for drywood termites consists of: 1.Structural fumigation. This is done by a certified pest control operator. The entire building is covered tightly with a fumigation cover and a sulfuryl fluoride(Vikane) or methyl bromide gas is fumigated. 2.Direct Wood Treatment(Spot treatments) To prepare for use of a a
liquid, aerosol, or dust formulation, holes are drilled into the infested
timbers through the termite galleries, using a 1/2 " drill in larger
timbers and smaller drills elsewhere. Insecticide is then forced through
these holes to be dispersed through the galleries. Dusts should be
injected in the galleries in small amounts. When treating limited infestations, aerosols may be used. If you inject a water-based insecticide in
a wooden beam..it may produce a favorable site for decay fungi. |
