Arizona’s climate provides an ideal environment for various wood-destroying insects, making termite activity a significant concern for homeowners. Identifying the specific type of termite is necessary because their habits, visual signs, and control measures differ greatly between species. Understanding what these pests look like is the first step in mitigating potential structural damage. Visual clues range from insect body features to unique structures they build or debris they expel from infested wood.
Identifying Arizona’s Subterranean Termites
Subterranean termites, particularly the Arid-Land and Desert Subterranean Termites, are the most common and destructive species found across Arizona. These insects live in large underground colonies and are rarely seen in the open, as they require high humidity and protection from dry air. The worker caste, which consumes wood, is small—about one-eighth to three-eighths of an inch long—and pale or creamy white with soft bodies.
Soldier termites are visually distinct, featuring larger, yellowish-brown heads and powerful, dark mandibles used to defend the colony. Mature colonies produce winged reproductive members, known as swarmers or alates. These swarmers are dark brown to black, measure up to a half-inch long with their wings, and emerge in large groups, often after monsoon rains, to establish new colonies.
The primary visual indicator of subterranean termite activity is the presence of mud tubes, also called shelter tubes. They construct these protective tunnels from soil, wood particles, and saliva. The tubes are roughly the diameter of a pencil and run along foundations, walls, and subflooring. This allows termites to travel between their underground nest and wood food source while maintaining a moist environment. Desert Subterranean Termites, such as Heterotermes aureus, build light-colored, strong tubes often found hanging freely from ceilings or rafters in infested areas.
Identifying Arizona’s Drywood Termites
Drywood termites, most commonly the Western Drywood Termite, do not require contact with the soil and live entirely within the wood they consume. This habit makes them more challenging to detect than subterranean termites, as they do not construct mud tubes. The swarmers of this species are generally larger than subterranean swarmers, featuring dark brown bodies, a reddish-brown head, and four smoky-black wings of equal size.
The soldiers of the drywood species are recognized by their large, heavy mandibles and a more robust appearance compared to subterranean soldiers. The most reliable visual evidence of a drywood infestation is the presence of frass, which are fecal pellets expelled from the colony. The frass is small, hard, and six-sided (hexagonal), resembling tiny grains of sand or sawdust. It is typically found in small piles near the kick-out holes created in the infested wood.
Unlike the soft, creamy-white workers of subterranean species, drywood workers are often larger, with a darker or reddish-brown coloration. They tunnel through the wood across the grain, creating clean and smooth galleries, unlike the mud-packed tunnels of subterranean termites. Finding these distinctive, pellet-like droppings is the clearest sign of active drywood termites.
Key Visual Differences Between Termites and Flying Ants
When termites swarm, they are frequently mistaken for flying ants. Three distinct anatomical features make the two insects easy to differentiate upon close inspection.
The first difference is seen in the antennae. A swarming termite possesses straight, beaded antennae, while a flying ant has distinctively bent or elbowed antennae.
The second distinguishing feature is the body shape, specifically the waist. Termites have a thick, straight waist where the thorax and abdomen join, giving their body a uniform, cylindrical appearance. Conversely, flying ants have a sharply pinched, narrow waist that creates a distinct separation between the thorax and the abdomen.
Finally, the wings provide a third reliable visual cue. Termite swarmers have two pairs of wings that are nearly identical in size and length. Flying ants, however, have two pairs of wings where the front pair is noticeably longer than the back pair.