Urban Center 2143 TAMU College Station, TX 77843 Phone:979-845-5855 Fax:979-845-5926	Center for Urban & Structural Entomology Texas A&M University Department of Entomology

Urban Pests

Formosan Subterranean Termites (Coptotermes formosanus.)

Introduction

Formosan termites have three castes within a colony: Reproductives (winged or wingless), soldiers, and workers (pseudergates). Formosan termites are identified by their soldiers or winged reproductives (Alates). Their nest are also easily identifiable. Formosan termite colonies can contain more than a million individuals. Formosan Termites often make aerial nests of chewed wood, saliva, and fecal material commonly called carton. They can be as large as several cubic feet and can be located above ground without soil contact.

Caste Characteristics

Workers

• White to off-white in color
• Difficult to distinguish termite species from one another
• Also called psuedergates

Solider

Soldiers

• Tear dropped or egg-shaped head shorter than that of native subterranean termites.
• Make up between 5-10 percent of a colony.
• Very aggressive
• They attack anything or anyone
• Exude a small amount of a white, defensive secretion from a gland (fontanelle)

Alate (Swarmer)

Alates

• Body color is yellowish-brown in color
• Bodies are12-15 mm (0.5-0.6 inch) in length
• Have large ocelli (simple eye)
• Their antennae contain more than 18 segments
• Wings are >10 mm long and covered with dense golden hair
• Wings have two heavily pigmented veins (costa and radius veins) near the front edge and no connecting cross veins.

Damage

Formosan termites cause the same type of damage as the other subterranean termites. They cause more rapid damage than native subterranean termites. They have been known to attack more than 47 plant species, including citrus, wild sherry, cherry laurel, sweet gum, cedar, willow, wax myrtle, Chinese elm and white oak. Formosan termites feed on both the spring growth and the summer growth wood. They have also been known to eat through non-cellulose material, such as thin sheets of soft metal (lead or copper), asphalt, plaster, creosote, rubber, and plastic,searching for food and moisture.

Formosan Tree Damage		Formosan Railroad Tie Damage

Distribution

Formosan Termites, Coptotermes spp. come from China, Formosa, and Japan. They have been introduced to Hawaii and the Continental United States. It is thought that they were imported through the military supply crates being brought back following World War II. In Texas they were first identified in 1956 at a shipyard in Pasadena. Currently there are 28 counties in Texas that have been positively identified as having an infestation of Formosan Subterranean Termites. The majority of the sightings are along the Gulf coast with scattered sightings inland. The sightings inland are due to the transportation of infested soils or materials (ex. Lumber, wood crates, or mulch).

List of counties in the Texas where Formosan Subterranean termites have been found.

(YR Represents the year the Formosan termites were found in that county
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	Anderson (2006 )	Angelina (1998)	Aransas (1997)
	Bexar (2001)	Brazoria (2003)	Cameron (2004)
	Chambers (2007)	Collin (2002)	Colorado (2004)
	Dallas (1998)	Denton (1994)	Ft. Bend (2007)
	Galveston (1980)	Gregg (2005)	Henderson (2002)
	Hidalgo (1992)	Harris (1956)	Jefferson (1980)
	Johnson (2005)	Liberty (2000)	Nacogdoches (2007)
	Nueces (1999)	Orange (1980)	Polk (2004)
	Rockwall (2003)	Smith (1999)	Tarrant (1995)
	Travis (1992)