Nymphs
These
immature termites develop into workers, soldiers or reproductives.
As the nymphs become larger, they also begin to damage wood. |
Soldiers
These
termites protect the colony. They have enlarged jaws called mandibles,
which they use to defend the colony. They look like workers,
but their heads are enlarged and darker colored than the workers.They comprise only 1 to 3 percent of the foraging termite population.
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Workers
These
are the termites that cause most of the damage by eating wood,
but they also maintain the colony, build and repair the nest,
forage for food, and help care for the young. Workers are the most numerous of the three castes. |
Reproductives
Reproductives can be primary or secondary. The secondary are found in mature colonies and serve as replacements if something happens to the primary reproductives. Winged reproductives (alates) are coal black to pale yellow-brown, flattened and about 1/4 to 3/8 inch long, with pale or smoke-gray to brown wings. Alates are also known as "swarmers."
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