Nov 16, 2011 – Swinging In The Trees
QUESTION:
Can subterranean termites nest above ground?
ANSWER:
Subterranean Termites very definitely can nest above ground, and this pertains to some of the native species in North America as well as tropical species such as the Formosan Termite. I have visited rain forests in South America many times and always will watch for the aerial nests of termites found well up on the sides of tree trunks. Sometimes these nests may be several feet wide, composed of a combination of soil they brought up, wood material they chewed off the tree, and either their saliva or their liquid fecal material. When you spot one of these obvious nests in the tree you will always find the mud tubes on the outside of that tree trunk, connecting the nest to the soil below. My feeling was that the aerial nest may be occupied during rainy season when the soil gets saturated, and the ground nests occupied during dry season when moisture in the tree is not adequate.
These aerial nests are extremely fragile and easily torn apart, compared with the "carton" nests of the Formosan Termites that also are often found above ground. This material somehow turns to a consistency almost as hard as the wood it was made from, which is probably a good thing considering the wall that is filled with the carton may not have much wood left in it to hold up the rest of the house. Formosans also nest above ground routinely, often with aerial nests in trees but also just with colonies located high up in high-rise buildings. As long as they can find a food and a water source they do not need to go back to the soil.
With native Eastern and Western subterranean termites in the U.S. there occasionally are incidents where the termites were living and surviving in a structure without any known access back to the soil. It is most likely that they began from the soil colony but were separated and isolated, perhaps by a chemical treatment of the soil below them, and were unable to make their way back down. But, if they find themselves near a leaking toilet or shower pan they now have the moisture and food that keeps them going. I once asked a termite expert how long subterranean termites could live in a structure without returning to the soil, and the answer was simply "as long as they have moisture".
That above-group "colony" of surviving termites may not manage to be as robust and thriving as they would if they were making the round trip to and from the soil, but they can carry on, and since some of those termites could become secondary reproductives there could be production of eggs and growth of the colony as well.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
Can subterranean termites nest above ground?
ANSWER:
Subterranean Termites very definitely can nest above ground, and this pertains to some of the native species in North America as well as tropical species such as the Formosan Termite. I have visited rain forests in South America many times and always will watch for the aerial nests of termites found well up on the sides of tree trunks. Sometimes these nests may be several feet wide, composed of a combination of soil they brought up, wood material they chewed off the tree, and either their saliva or their liquid fecal material. When you spot one of these obvious nests in the tree you will always find the mud tubes on the outside of that tree trunk, connecting the nest to the soil below. My feeling was that the aerial nest may be occupied during rainy season when the soil gets saturated, and the ground nests occupied during dry season when moisture in the tree is not adequate.
These aerial nests are extremely fragile and easily torn apart, compared with the "carton" nests of the Formosan Termites that also are often found above ground. This material somehow turns to a consistency almost as hard as the wood it was made from, which is probably a good thing considering the wall that is filled with the carton may not have much wood left in it to hold up the rest of the house. Formosans also nest above ground routinely, often with aerial nests in trees but also just with colonies located high up in high-rise buildings. As long as they can find a food and a water source they do not need to go back to the soil.
With native Eastern and Western subterranean termites in the U.S. there occasionally are incidents where the termites were living and surviving in a structure without any known access back to the soil. It is most likely that they began from the soil colony but were separated and isolated, perhaps by a chemical treatment of the soil below them, and were unable to make their way back down. But, if they find themselves near a leaking toilet or shower pan they now have the moisture and food that keeps them going. I once asked a termite expert how long subterranean termites could live in a structure without returning to the soil, and the answer was simply "as long as they have moisture".
That above-group "colony" of surviving termites may not manage to be as robust and thriving as they would if they were making the round trip to and from the soil, but they can carry on, and since some of those termites could become secondary reproductives there could be production of eggs and growth of the colony as well.
View past Ask Mr. Pest Control questions.
