"The Dampwood Termites" (Zootermopsis) 

These are our largest termites and since they require much moisture, their colonies are commonly found in logs and damp or decaying wood. The Dampwood termites are distributed from British Columbia to lower California.

According to Light et al. (1930), the winged forms vary from reddish brown to black/brown and are about 1 inch/25 mm or more in length with wings twice as long as the body.

The soldiers (one shown here at left) have large reddish brown heads with black mandibles and are 3/4 inch/19 mm in length. The light yellowish gray/brown nymphs have a mottled gray/brown abdomen which is wider than the head and the head and the head is wider than the thorax. The feces of these termites have the appearance of large oval pellets.

The termites of this genus are all situated in the West and are most widespread on the Pacific Coast. Castle (1934) states three species of the genus Zootermopsis angusticollis (Hagen), the common or Pacific dampwood termite; Zootermopsis nevadensis (Hagen), the small dampwood termite; and Zootermopsis laticeps (Banks) the Arizona dampwood termite. Zootermopsis angusticollis and Zootermopsis nevadensis are very similar in many respects and are difficult to tell apart.