Termite Identification & Signs

A technician finds pencil-width earthen tubes running up an exposed concrete pier from the soil to the floor joists. What is the primary biological purpose these shelter (mud) tubes serve for subterranean termites?

• They protect the workers from the drying effects of air and let them travel between the soil and wood without exposure ✓
• They are spent egg cases discarded by the queen after a swarm
• They store excess cellulose as a food cache for the dry season
• They are mating chambers built only during the spring swarm

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Compared with drywood termites, what foraging characteristic typically distinguishes native subterranean termites such as Reticulitermes flavipes?

• They live entirely inside the dry wood they infest and never contact soil
• They typically nest in or near the soil and must maintain a moist connection to it, foraging out to reach wood ✓
• They require standing water and infest only submerged or floating timber
• They feed exclusively on living tree roots and never enter structures

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A homeowner sweeps up a small pile of identical translucent shed wings on an interior window sill in spring. For a pest control technician, what does this finding most directly indicate?

• A reproductive swarm has occurred and the structure may be infested, warranting inspection ✓
• The colony has died and no further activity is possible
• The wings are the raw material termites use to construct their mud tubes
• It rules out termites and confirms a fly or moth problem instead

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