"The Western Subterranean Termite" (Reticulitermes hesperus) 

This is a termite of prime economic importance on which much research has been done. It is this species that is so commonly encountered in wood in contact with the ground along the entire Pacific Coast from the lower slopes of the mountains to the shore. It ranges all along the coast from British Columbia into lower California and eastward into Idaho and Nevada.

On the first sunny day following the rains in autumn, these termites will be found erupting from smaller exit holes in the ground and from cracks and crevices in buildings. They often appear in great clusters around these exit holes. If they infest a home, they fly around in the rooms, and it is at this time many individuals mistakenly refer to them as "flying ants." These winged forms have black bodies with light gray wings. Light (1934) observes, "If it is warm enough they fly some distances, toward the sun if not carried elsewhere by the wing, drop to the ground, lose their wings at a performed basal joint and assort in pairs." Pickens (1934) gives us the following details about the flight and mating of these termites: "The flight is weak and the direction is largely determined by the prevailing breeze; most of the insects soon sink to earth in the immediate vicinity, though a few may flutter upward for 60 feet and be borne along for as much as 200 yards. Many do not fly aloft at all, but drop their wings while running about on the ground." After settling to earth and breaking off their wings, the females "now take up a passive position with the abdomen raised high in the air, increasing the area of visibility and probably emitting an odor which is attractive to the males. The latter rush about the surface hurriedly, one by one coming in contact with a female. When a pair thus come together the female depresses the abdomen and the male follows as she leads, the two proceeding in tamdem, sometimes joined by a third and even a fourth insect, the whole moving along like a train of cars. At times, in turning, the leader curves so far to the right or left that she finds her self being the last one of the train and the group revolves for some time in a circle. Again, the male may become separated from the female leading him, in which case she stops, reelevates the abdomen, and waits until he or another male joins her before proceeding again."

They now seek the dark. Once a suitable cavity has been found by the female, the male aids her in the founding of the new colony. They feed and groom each other and copulate within a day of excavating their cavity. According to Pickens (1932), "Copulation has been observed to be repeated at intervals for some months and probably actually occurs at intervals throughout the life of the royal pairs."

Whereas the drywood termites are capable of living in wood without any contact with the soil, the subterranean termites are not as able to utilize the moisture in the wood and therefore they almost always have tubular connections with the moisture in the soil.

According to Light (1934), a colony of subterranean termites may vary from three to four to many thousands, the number being dependent upon their age and location. He further notes, "Each colony has at least one queen, but there are often several, depending on the size of the colony. The queen is usually attended by a male, but seems to lay fertile eggs for a considerable period after her consort's death. She lives in a large chamber with the male, attended by a squad of soldiers, and from time to time shifts her quarters to some neighboring cavity of similar size."