365 Urban Species. #113: Eastern Subterranean Termite

[urbpan]

photos by cottonmanifesto

Eastern subterranean termite. Reticulitermes flavipes

Researching termites I find that the problem of termite infestations in houses in New England is very serious, at least in the opinion of the pest control industry. One Massachusetts-based exterminator's website helpfully provides the alarming fact that there are more than 2000 species of termites worldwide. It omits, however, the fact that there is only one species found in the northeast. The eastern subterranean termite is a relatively fragile creature, requiring moist conditions to avoid dessication. Doubtless there have been cases where they have infested homes in New England, but they are few and far between. Nationwide, the professionals tell us, termites cause as much structural damage as fire, but very little of this damage can be blamed on northeastern populations of eastern subterranean termites. I have only found termites in Boston underneath damp rotten logs.

Termites are the only social insects that aren't related to ants and bees. While sterile adults make up an ant or bee colony, termite workers and soldiers are sexually immature youngsters. In this stage the insects are white and sightless. Their appetite for wood is infamous, but it should be recognized as the remarkable adaptation that it is. Thanks to a symbiosis with single-celled organisms that live in their digestive system, they can make use of a food source unavailable to almost all other living things.