The winged forms of termite are only 0.5 inches long. The Tropical Queens often reach lengths of 3 inches, while Workers & Soldiers are approximately 0.25 inches long. The soldier has an elongated, quadrangular, light yellow head equipped with mandibles. The worker has a thorax that is narrower than the head and abdomen.
The primary queen attains maturity in about 2 years and are known to live for upto 2.5 years. The average worker or soldier lives for 2-3 years. The subterranean termite queen has been known to lay eggs at the rate of 6 a minute which is a whopping 8460 eggs a day
1800 species of Termites have been acconted for so far. Termite distribution is world wide. The only place one cannot find them is the Arctic or Antarctic.
It is a voracious wood eater and attacks a wide range of timbers in service as well as living trees, shrubs and vegetables. It can also attack plastic cables, leather, lead, bitumen and many other materials.