There are several castes in each termite colony, and every caste has a specific role. You have the workers which are responsible for the day to day tasks of the colony, the soldiers which are tasked with protecting the hive, and the reproductive caste which ensures that the population of the colony continues to grow. However, there is also an extra subcaste in the larger reproductive caste which is composed of swarmers. Swarmers are winged kings and queens that set out of the colony in order to start their own nest.
Appearance
Termite swarmers basically look like termites with wings, and if you don’t know what termites look like, just imagine an ant with wings. Unfortunately, this complicates things a little bit because there are also ant swarmers and they are literal ants with wings, so you need to be able to tell the two apart.
For this, you have to check three things – the length of the wings, the shape of the body, and the shape of the antennae. Ant swarmers two pairs of wings of different sizes, while termite wing pairs are of equal lengths. When it comes to body shape, termites have a stockier body made up of one segment, while ants have a narrow waist, and their bodies are split into several segments. Finally, when it comes to the antennae, ants have bent antennae, while termites have them straight.
What to do if you see swarmers
Swarmers only come out of mature termite colonies, which are in their reproductive stage. As such, if you see swarmers flying around, it means that you are dealing with a mature termite colony somewhere in the area. There’s no way of knowing whether the home is infested if you spot these swarmers outside in your yard, unless you hire a pro to perform an inspection. However, if the swarmers are inside the home, then that is an almost 100% guarantee that your home has a large colony inside of it.
How swarmers are stopped
Swarmers are pretty harmless in the short term – the majority of them die without establishing a colony, and the majority of colonies die in their infancy, but they are a sign of a potential problem. If you spot swarmers on your property, the best course of action is to hire a pro for an inspection and ensure that your home is safe. Contact us today if you have any questions about swarmers, or if you requireprofessional pest control services.