Termites And Mating

Termites are very private, secretive and social insects that live in colonies of thousands to millions. Their colonies normally consist of workers, soldiers, kings and queens that work together. The long-lived king and queen are heads of the colonies.

Communication

• Termites normally start the mating process in the dark beginning with pheromones, which are scents that emit availability to the opposite sex termite. They can also mate in daylight after a rain, with proper conditions of heat and temperature. Both the male and female emit pheromones when they are ready to mate.

Mating Flight

• When they are ready to mate and start new colonies, the winged males and females leave their nests in a mass mating flight, as they seem to go off in pairs. The pairs may seem to be running in flight with the males usually behind the female, called tandem running, as they search for a nesting area. When they establish their new colony, both male and female termites lose their wings.

Reproduction

• Only the queen can lay the eggs after mating. The king and queen can mate often for continuous egg production. It takes eggs two to seven weeks to progress from development to adulthood.