Along with the rainy season have come flying termites. During a rain they come out by the thousands, and at night swarm around any light. A couple weeks ago we were over at a dorm in the evening during a light rain, and because it was dark outside and the lights were on inside, we felt like we were under attack by flying termites! They were swarming at the windows, coming in under the door and through any crack they could find. The dorm kids were having a blast trying to catch them. They can’t hurt you, but they can annoy you to death! The upside? When their wings are taken off and their bodies fried, they taste like bacon bits. At least that’s what I’ve been told. I haven’t had the guts opportunity to try these “frying” termites yet!
Flying Termites
More Information
While termites do not fall into the category of flying insects like mosquitoes and wasps do — as only a small set of termites can fly — some do, in fact, have the ability. However, they can only do so for a short period of time before losing their wings.
Swarms mark the beginning of termite season and happen once a year during a select period of time. Termites swarm in order to breed and begin new colonies. Swarming marks the beginning of the termite life cycle. During this period of time, the sexually developed male and female winged termites leave their nests and take flight, which is also referred to as nuptial flight. This is common and practised by other similar insects such as ants.
After flying away from their nest, the winged termites will congregate in the air (creating swarms) and mate with termites of the same species from different colonies. Once they have successfully mated the termites will land, shed their wings and begin the process of creating a new colony.
Termites typically start to swarm in this part of the world at the beginning of the rainy season. They use environmental cues as a signal to begin swarming and synchronise with other termite colonies of the same species in order to ensure the possibility of inbreeding is reduced. Winged termites are extremely attracted to sources of light, like street lamps and will typically be found swarming around these sources.
Termites are not confident fliers and usually rely on the wind to help with their air mileage. Because of this fact, termite swarms tend to only last for a short period of time, and can be found near the originating nests of the winged termites.
