''Reticulitermes virginicus'' is a species of subterranean

termite Termites are small insects that live in colonies and have distinct castes (eusocial) and feed on wood or other dead plant matter. Termites comprise the infraorder Isoptera, or alternatively the epifamily Termitoidae, within the order Blattode ...

native to

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, found often in the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

.Su, Nan-Yao.
Native Subterranean Termites: ''Reticulitermes flavipes'' (Kollar), ''Reticulitermes virginicus'' (Banks), ''Reticulitermes hageni'' Banks (Insecta: Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)
" IFAS Extension, University of Florida. It was described in 1907. Like all other termite species, ''R. virginicus'' is a eusocial species, characterized by individuals in a colony with overlapped generations cooperating in brood care and having reproductive

division of labor The division of labour is the separation of the tasks in any economic system or organisation so that participants may specialise (specialisation). Individuals, organizations, and nations are endowed with, or acquire specialised capabilities, and ...

. The adults that grow wings and fly from the nest to find a mate and start a new colony are called alates, or winged reproductives. In this species they are dark brown. Alates leave the nest between early February and late May. They prefer warm and sunny afternoons after

rain Rain is water droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides water f ...

. Like in all other termite species, all four of their wings are equal length. ''R. virginicus'' alates have wings about long with two visible, hardened and thickened veins.

Life cycle

These termites live underground, and their presence is often undetected. Winged reproductives (alates) appear above ground in the late winter or spring. When this happens inside a house, this may alert the homeowner to the fact that the termites are present. After a short flight, the insects shed their wings, and a female will search for a crevice or other suitable underground nesting site and be joined there by a male. Having mated and excavated a chamber, the female (queen) starts laying eggs. The first batch of eggs hatch into larvae which develop into workers; these enlarge the nest, search for food and carry it back to the nest. As the number of termites in the colony increases, some workers further develop into soldiers; in well-established colonies, there may be hundreds of thousands of individual insects. Alates are not produced until the colony has been established for several years. In large colonies, it is possible for workers to develop into non-winged reproductives which lay eggs to supplement the queen's effort, or which can replace her should she die.

Damage

The termites tunnel underground, foraging up to from the nest. If they venture above ground, they create tubes to protect their passageways. They can enter buildings through joints in the mortar or cracks in the foundations. They feed on wood, and harbour

symbiotic Symbiosis (from Greek , , "living together", from , , "together", and , bíōsis, "living") is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction between two different biological organisms, be it mutualistic, commensalistic, or parasit ...

bacteria in the gut to help them digest the

cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...

. They hollow out timbers, leaving a paper-thin surface intact, which may appear blistered or peeling. In the United States, ''

Reticulitermes flavipes ''Reticulitermes flavipes'', the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests. They fe ...

'', ''Reticulitermes virginicus'' and ''

Coptotermes formosanus The Formosan termite (''Coptotermes formosanus'') is a species of termite local to southern China and introduced to Taiwan (formerly known as Formosa, where it gets its name), Japan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Hawaii, and the continental United Sta ...

'' are responsible for 80% of the damage done by termites.

References

Termites {{termite-stub