Reticulitermes flavipes
eastern subterranean termite

R. flavipes is found throughout the eastern United States, as faro north as the Mississippi and as far south as Mexico. It has been accidentally introduced to southern France.

In the north, colony populations of R. flavipes can reach up to 1-10 million. In addition, these termites may forage on territories up to several thousand square meters (Myles, 1998) Of the termites, only R. flavipes and its cousin, R. tibialis, build "shelter tubes" over foundations or through cracks in timber. They build these with soil particles, saliva, and feces. These tubes require constant moisture and soil contact to sustain the colony (Myles, 1998). The subterranean termites, themselves, must have contact with the soil in order to survive (Krishna, 1989). They may also live in giant termite mounds made of mud and ground mass. It is possible for termites to adjust the level of their nest to optimum moisture and stability levels.

Termites are thought to have diverged early in insect evolution. Ancestors had gradual metamorphosis and the ability to fold their wings over their backs. Their body plan is simple, while their social behavior is advanced. Termites are hemimetabolous, medium sized, polymorphic (having more than one form) social insects. They have biting mouthparts, and antennae comprising 9 to 30 segments. The alate forms (winged primary reproductives) have four almost equal wings and compound eyes; however, the sterile workers and the secondary reproductives have no or greatly reduced compound eyes.

Each member of the R. flavipes colony (workers, soldiers, and kings & queens) looks different. R. flavipes soldiers are slightly bigger than workers and have enlarged and darkened orange head capsules. The workers are creamy-white and are approximately 5-6mm in length (Myles, 1998). As queens reproduce, they become massive creatures of up to 9cm long. The kings are cream colored like the workers, and look like tiny maggots compared to the queen. (Benavides, 1998).

R. flavipes are eusocial; They live in special colonies or "families" led by a monogamous king and a queen (Benavides, 1998). During the first days the queen lays about five eggs. When these hatch they are first fed by regurgitation by the queen. Soon, however, they are eating surrounding wood and thus enlarging the nest. After 2 years the new nest may still contain as few as 10 workers and one soldier (soldiers take about a year to mature). After a few more years the nest begins to release sexuals. And that paves the ways for a new colony elsewhere (Ramel, 1998).

Workers comprise the bulk of the population -- they feed everyone else in the colony, dig tunnels, locate food and water, and build and repair the nest. Soldiers, with their enlarged mandibles, provide defense against predators.

Termites ingest wood. They cannot, however, digest wood fibers. Instead, "Termites rely on single-celled animals -- protozoa -- that live in their gut to digest the hard components of wood, freeing up the cellulose that nourishes them." (Grady, 1996) They live off of the by-products of this process.

R. flavipes are by far the most destructive of all termites (Su and Scheffrahn, 1990). They are notorious for their destruction of manmade wood products. Billions of dollars annually go to damage repair and treatment (Su and Scheffrahn, 1990). Homes and buildings can be consumed by R. flavipes as their massive colonies expand.

"Termites are not all bad. In natural settings, they fulfill a vital function in breaking down the forest debris into raw materials that nourish new trees. Termites get into difficulty because they cannot tell the difference between a fallen tree and wood that is being used by humans" (Knowledge Book Enclyclopedia, 1997). By converting existing biomass to biomass that other animals can consume, termites support a large proportion of temperate vertebrate biodiversity, including many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and ground foraging insectivorous mammals. Termites are effective decomposers. Although not in widespread use now, they could be used to degrade damp rotten wood, wood chips, mill waste, structural rubble waste or other wood waste. They are relatively easy to handle and maintain, and could play a beneficial role in reducing landfill space.

Researchers should be careful when studying termites. At Auburn University's Extension Hall, entomologists studying termites and other insects found that their building had been plagued for 15 years by an infestation of native Eastern subterranean termites (R. flavipes). (Senticrom Webpage, 1993)