Lifespan Of A Termite
Like many insects termites have an egg an immature and an adult stage.
Lifespan of a termite. The lifespan of a termite depends on its caste as well as its species. If dealing with a subterranean termite colony the most damaging of the three main groups of termites the presence of other colony caste members are concealed and hidden below ground. After reaching the end of its lifetime the colony dies and termite nest ruins. Termites also have the largest mounds of any animal except for the humans.
The queen has been known to live for 30 or more years. Depending on the species it can take three to four years before a newly founded colony reaches maturity and produce its own swarmers. Lifespan colonies termite colonies can persist for the life of the primary queen and beyond so by the time the primary queen dies the colony can have quite an expansive territory. As a general rule of thumb whenever a termite swarm is observed that means the colony has been actively consuming wood in the house for about 3 to 5 years.
Termites are social insects that live in highly organized colonies. The termite mounds in australia come in at an astounding 20 feet high and 30 feet in. For some african species of termites a queen s life span may be up to 50 years while in other species such as drywood termites the queens live only 10 to 12 years. Workers and soldiers live approximately one to two years.
Eastern subterranean termite queens have been known to live up to 30 years whereas drywood termite queens tend only live 10 12 years. Worker and soldier termites typically live anywhere from 10 to 14 months. However it s more common for a queen to live 15 or so years. In ideal conditions the colony can live up to 50 years.
Reproductive termites also known as alates or swarmers can live to be 4 years old. Unlike ants which undergo a complete metamorphosis each individual termite goes through an incomplete metamorphosis that proceeds through egg nymph and adult stages. The nymph hatches directly from the egg. Taking into account all the external factors and threats it can be said that termites are excellent survivors.
In general termites live for the following amounts of time. During the two week incubation period eggs are tended by the worker termites. Studies show that queen termites can live up to decades under ideal climate conditions. Attendants feed nymphs regurgitated food for the first two weeks.
The new couple then select a nest location mate and become king and queen of a new colony. The african mound building termite queen can grow to 60 years old she s the longest living bug in existence. Queens of eastern subterranean termites the most common species of termites found in the united states can live up to a staggering 30 years but a 15 to 17 year life span is more common.