CSIRO Science Image

The soldiers have very dark heads, pointed at the front. Soldiers are the defenders of the colony and are also wingless and sterile. They have hard heads and are armed with a long, hollow snout through which they squirt a sticky thread to entangle invaders.

The workers are also wingless and sterile and comprise 90% or more of the colony. As their name implies they do the work: gathering the food; caring for the eggs; feeding the reproductives and the young,; tunnelling and building.

The nymphs are distinguished by their wing buds. Nymphs develop into adults who leave the nest to form new colonies.

This species of termite is common in Canberra and parts of New South Wales.

Photographer : Entomology

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• Entomology  termites   entomology   insects and other arthropods