About Termites

Termites are a team of eusocial insects that, till just recently, were categorized at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera (see taxonomy below), however are now accepted as the epifamily Termitoidae, of the cockroach order Blattodea. While termites are generally understood, specifically in Australia, as "white ants", they are for practical purposes unassociated to the ants.

Like ants, and some and wasps - which are all placed in the separate order Hymenoptera - termites divide labor among castes, produce overlapping generations and care for young collectively. Termites primarily feed upon dead plant material, normally in the form of wood, leaf litter, soil, or animal dung, and about 10 % of the estimated 4,000 species (about 2,600 taxonomically known) are economically substantial as bugs that can trigger major structural damage to structures, crops or plantation forests. Termites are significant detritivores, specifically in the subtropical and exotic regions, and their recycling of wood and other plant issue is of considerable eco-friendly value.

As eusocial insects, termites live in nests that, at maturity, number from several hundred to a number of million individuals. Colonies make use of decentralised, self-organised systems of activity led by swarm intelligence which exploit meals sources and environments unavailable to any single bug acting alone. A normal nest contains nymphs (semimature young), workers, soldiers, and reproductive people of both sexes, sometimes consisting of numerous egg-laying queens.

site: http://termiteinspect.org/