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Common Name: Dampwood termite
Latin Name: Zootermopsis spp.
Common Family Name: Dampwood termites
Latin Family Name: Hodotermitidae

Other Names: Rottenwood termite

Origin: Native to the United States, and found in the Pacific Coast states and into Canada, and east to Montana and Texas. There are several minor species of dampwood termites in other genera, but the genus Zootermopsis is by far the most widespread, with 3 species in the U.S. The other 3 genera, with one species in each, are in Florida and in the deserts of the southwest states.

Biology: These termites get their name from the need for a high moisture content in the wood. They are extremely common in wooded or forest environments in cooler climates. Colonies are generally small by termite standards, with several thousand workers in a mature colony. There is no true worker caste, as nymphs perform the duties of the colony and all nymphs become either adult soldiers or adult alates. Alates swarm after sundown on warm summer evenings. The reproductives may attack wood without soil contact. Damage is indicated by large galleries that usually follow the direction of the grain, and with fecal pellets packed into some of these galleries. The texture of the sides of the galleries is “velvety”, or slightly rough textured.

Identification: These are the largest termites, and soldiers and alates have distinct characteristics. The wings extend well past the end of the abdomen, and there are 3 thickened veins near the leading edge of each wing that run from the base to the tip of the wing. There are no ocelli next to the compound eyes and no fontanelle present in the middle of the top of the head. The body color is dark red-brown and the wings have a dark tint to them. The soldiers have a pair of jaws that lay more or less horizontal and in line with the head in front. The jaws are not symmetrical, and they have unequal numbers of teeth or projections along their inner margin. The antennae have more than 22 segments on them, and there will be long, visible spines on the tibia of the legs.

Characteristics Important in Control: These termites require wood with high moisture content, and controlling this excessive moisture condition will generally be effective in both preventing and repelling the termites. A local treatment with a residual insecticide injected into their galleries may be needed to kill workers still present after the moisture conditions are corrected.

Common Name: Drywood termite - Incisitermes
Latin Name: Incisitermes spp.
Common Family Name: Drywood termites
Latin Family Name: Kalotermitidae

Other Names:

Origin: Seven species of these native termites occur in North America, including I. minor, the western species which is extremely damaging to structures throughout California and Arizona, and I. snyderi, the southeastern species which may cause extensive damage in states from Texas to the east coast.

Biology: Drywood termites are somewhat limited to the drier, warmer climates, and generally occur in a band from California to Virginia, in an arc along only the lower parts of the U.S., with occasional incidents in other areas as transients in infested materials. There is no true worker caste, as the nymphs perform the labor and all eventually grow to either soldiers or alates. Winged adults will not be produced until the colony is at least 4 years old, and mature colonies usually have less than 3000 members. Swarming may be during the evening or at mid-day, varying with location, and often only a dozen or so alates will swarm. Further evidence of infestation is the presence of fecal pellets on surfaces, having been pushed out of the galleries by the workers. Colonies may be over 2 years old before this evidence is seen.

Identification: Fecal pellets are key evidence, and they are tiny, egg-shaped, and very hard, with several longitudinal depressions on them. Color of the pellets varies depending on the wood infested. Alates have no fontanelle, but they have a single ocellus next to each compound eye and antennae with less than 22 segments. On the wings there are 3 thickened veins that run parallel to each other near the leading edge, running from the base to the wing tip. The wings are usually a pale color. Soldiers have typical jaws, and they are not symmetrical, as they have uneven numbers of teeth on their inner margin. The antenna is composed of 10 or 11 segments, and in some species the third segment may be longer than the fourth and fifth segments combined, in other species it is shorter. The color is a reddish brown.

Characteristics Important in Control: Control is by either fumigation of structures or infested objects, or by injection of a residual insecticide into the galleries in the wood. Consideration must be given to the small colony size, and the possibility that multiple colonies may exist within a single structure. Alternative treatments methods other than fumigants are becoming more widely used.