UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



BULLETIN No. 333 «, v 



"*atY^*X%* Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology *T»_ 



S&Y^TU L. O. HOWARD, Chief J&F'^^U 



Washington, D. C. 



PROFESSIONAL PAPER 



February 16, 1916 



TERMITES, OR "WHITE ANTS," IN THE UNITED STATES: 

 THEIR DAMAGE, AND METHODS OF PREVENTION. 1 



By Thomas E. Snyder, M. F., 

 Assistant in Forest Entomology, Forest Insect Investigations. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



Classification 1 



Description of the insects 2 



Communal organization and life 4 



The life cycle 5 



The swarm 8 



Geographical distribution 12 



Economic importance of termites in the 



United States 13 



Preventive and remedial measures 26 



INTRODUCTION. 



'Termites, or " white ants," which are classed among the most in- 

 jurious insects to man's industry in tropical regions, are by no 

 means restricted to the Tropics and in the United States are capable 

 of seriously damaging the woodwork as well as the contents of 

 buildings and other structures of wood, and occasionally the roots of 

 living trees and various growing crops. In the United States these 

 insects more frequently occur and more often become a pest in the 

 Southern States. Due to their subterranean habits, insidious method 

 of attack, and often countless numbers, termites are very difficult to 

 destroy. Always coming up through underground galleries, they 

 work under cover, avoiding exposure to the light, so that the damage 

 is often hidden until beyond repair. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



" White ants " are not ants, but, because of their superficial resem- 

 blance to ants (except in color) and their communal habits, they have 

 been almost universally so termed. Thus these insects, since they live 



1 The species principally treated herein are Leucotermes f.avipes Kollar, L. virginicus 

 Banks, and L. lucifugus Rossi. 



11433°— Bull. 333—16- 1 



