01/12/2023
There has been a lot of comments & quite a lot of misinformation on local community groups recently regarding termite & ant swarms.
This video shows flying termites (winged reproductives or alates) swarming out of the external timber cladding of a house in Narraweena.
They swarm in their thousands when climatic conditions are just right. They instinctively know when the humidity is high enough, just prior to a storm, during the warmer months. This is why we are currently seeing a lot of swarms in the late afternoon & early evening.
Most of these swarms are coming straight from the main nest, which will usually be in a tree or stump. They swarm in huge numbers as a kamikaze mission. Very few if any will start a new colony. They get washed out if the rain comes, or dessicated if the humidity levels drop. They are attracted to light & that is why you may see hundreds inside or outside your home, but they cannot just land on timber structures & start chomping away.
At the time of the swarm, they are as*xual. Only once they pair up is the s*x determined & they become a new Queen & King. The Queen becomes a huge egg laying machine & nymphs turn into workers & soldiers. They need a constant moisture source & a concealed environment & that is why, depending on the species, they start the colony in a tree.
Once the colony is large enough, the workers start to forage for food outside of the nest. They leave a pheromone scent trail & return to the nest from the feeding sites every 24-48 hours. Most of the economically destructive species in N.S.W. are subterranean, therefore attacking your property requires ground contact. They make mud tunnels tracking up foundation walls, over slab edges or via any structure abutting the property, in search of cellulose in the form of timber. Once they find a food source, they send pheromone messages back to the nest, telling them of a favourable feeding area.
The workers then start to consume the timber from the inside & the soldiers remain on guard duty. Termites use a form of sonar & that is why they can remain inside the timber structure, without breaking the surface. A timber bearer, joist, rafter or wall frame can look fine on the outside, but can be reduced to nothing inside.
If you see a swarm over the next few months, don't be too alarmed (unless they are swarming out of your house, like in the video) It just means there is a nest nearby & it would be a good idea to employ a qualified termite inspector to conduct a full inspection of your property.
There is obviously a lot of confusion between flying termites & flying ants. Firstly, we shouldn't call termites "white ants." This is just a colloquial term for them & they are not related to ants in any way. The difference between flying ants & termites are;
1. Ants have a narrow waist (thorax)
2. Termites have 2 pairs of wings of equal length.
3. Termite alates are chocolate brown & most ants are black or darker brown.
Nigel Wood
Eradicator Pest Services
0414808997
