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Termites primarily feed on wood, paper and plant debris, and they seek out hidden, dark and damp environments. Bedrooms and beds do not provide the ideal conditions or food sources for termites.
Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. [1] These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests . [ 1 ]
Spores are sown on the wood in the nest and treated with a growth hormone. The termites feed on the resulting fungus garden. [3] The fungi produce heat in the nest, which rises towards the closed chimney. The heat is exchanged via the chimney, and its smaller tunnels that lead to the surface.
The termites do have a preference to the type of wood that they like to consume. The termites are most likely to eat wood that is not tainted with repellent chemicals in the wood. The termites are also more likely to consume wood from which the colony has developed. The Douglas fir is the most popular wood that the termites like to consume.
Depending on their feeding habits, termites are placed into two groups: the lower termites and higher termites. The lower termites predominately feed on wood. As wood is difficult to digest, termites prefer to consume fungus-infected wood because it is easier to digest and the fungi are high in protein.
The fungi concerned are species of Termitomyces; it is unclear whether one species of termite is always associated with one species of fungus, and it is probable that several species of termite may utilise a single fungal species. The worker termites bring plant material such as dried grass, decaying wood and leaf litter, back to the mound ...
Rhinotermitidae is a family of wood-soil interface feeding termites commonly known as the Subterranean termites.Many members of this family are known pests that can cause extensive damage to buildings or other wooden structures.
Termitidae is the largest family of termites consisting of 2,105 described species of which are commonly known as the higher termites. [1] They are evolutionarily the most specialised termite group, with their highly compartmentalized hindgut lacking the flagellated protozoans common to "lower termites", which are instead replaced by bacteria and archaea.