Deep Look | Flying Termites Take a Dangerous Journey to a New Life | Deep Look @KQEDDeepLook | Uploaded 2 years ago | Updated 1 minute ago
After the first big rain, western subterranean termites swarm by the thousands. Hungry ants, spiders and birds pick them off as they emerge from the soil. The survivors fly off to find mates, and quickly drop their delicate wings to start new underground colonies. If you’re really unlucky, they’ll build tubes of mud and saliva from their nest to yours.
DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
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These massive swarms of western subterranean termites happen once a year in California on a warm, windless day shortly after the first big rain that ended the dry summer.
Winged termites called alates push through the softened soil. They crawl out of cracks in the road and holes in tree stumps. Big-headed soldier termites stand guard to defend them.
Underground colonies send these alates up to reproduce with alates from nearby colonies.
Once a male and female alate find each other, their wings break off. The male runs after the female very quickly, before they both dig themselves into the earth and start their own colony.
---
--- Do all termites fly?
Only some members of any termite colony can fly. But all types of termites (subterranean, drywood and dampwood) produce alates, whose job it is to fly out and start new colonies.
--- Do flying termites eat wood?
No. Once a pair of flying termites have hooked up, they lose their wings, dig underground, mate and lay thousands of eggs. They will be the king and queen of their colony. The worker termites they make will then leave the nest to forage for sources of cellulose, like a dead tree, or wood in a house. When they return to the nest, these workers will feed the colony’s king and queen, as well as the young termites.
--- Should I worry about flying termites?
If you see termites flying out inside your house, they could be a sign of infestation. But the more common signs of a subterranean termite infestation are tubes made from earth that worker termites build at the bottom of your house connecting wooden structures to the soil. Termites build these so-called shelter tubes from mud, saliva and even bits of wood or drywall. The insects desiccate easily and need these covered shelter tubes to stay moist.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
kqed.org/science/1978298/flying-termites-take-a-dangerous-journey-to-a-new-life
---+ More great Deep Look episodes:
These Termites Turn Your House into a Palace of Poop
youtu.be/DYPQ1Tjp0ew
Watch Bed Bugs Get Stopped in Their Tracks
youtu.be/ToeWrGTGOOI
A Flea’s Fantastic Jump Takes More Than Muscle
youtu.be/A5KvNcNz9aQ
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NeExtraOleas
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Violet A. Salticidae
Duncan
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吳怡彰
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Silvan
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rafael pirondi
---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look:
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---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, California, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.
#subterraneantermites #termites #deeplook
After the first big rain, western subterranean termites swarm by the thousands. Hungry ants, spiders and birds pick them off as they emerge from the soil. The survivors fly off to find mates, and quickly drop their delicate wings to start new underground colonies. If you’re really unlucky, they’ll build tubes of mud and saliva from their nest to yours.
DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
---
These massive swarms of western subterranean termites happen once a year in California on a warm, windless day shortly after the first big rain that ended the dry summer.
Winged termites called alates push through the softened soil. They crawl out of cracks in the road and holes in tree stumps. Big-headed soldier termites stand guard to defend them.
Underground colonies send these alates up to reproduce with alates from nearby colonies.
Once a male and female alate find each other, their wings break off. The male runs after the female very quickly, before they both dig themselves into the earth and start their own colony.
---
--- Do all termites fly?
Only some members of any termite colony can fly. But all types of termites (subterranean, drywood and dampwood) produce alates, whose job it is to fly out and start new colonies.
--- Do flying termites eat wood?
No. Once a pair of flying termites have hooked up, they lose their wings, dig underground, mate and lay thousands of eggs. They will be the king and queen of their colony. The worker termites they make will then leave the nest to forage for sources of cellulose, like a dead tree, or wood in a house. When they return to the nest, these workers will feed the colony’s king and queen, as well as the young termites.
--- Should I worry about flying termites?
If you see termites flying out inside your house, they could be a sign of infestation. But the more common signs of a subterranean termite infestation are tubes made from earth that worker termites build at the bottom of your house connecting wooden structures to the soil. Termites build these so-called shelter tubes from mud, saliva and even bits of wood or drywall. The insects desiccate easily and need these covered shelter tubes to stay moist.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
kqed.org/science/1978298/flying-termites-take-a-dangerous-journey-to-a-new-life
---+ More great Deep Look episodes:
These Termites Turn Your House into a Palace of Poop
youtu.be/DYPQ1Tjp0ew
Watch Bed Bugs Get Stopped in Their Tracks
youtu.be/ToeWrGTGOOI
A Flea’s Fantastic Jump Takes More Than Muscle
youtu.be/A5KvNcNz9aQ
---+ Shoutout!
🏆Congratulations🏆 to the first 5 fans on our Deep Look Community Tab to correctly answer our GIF challenge!
NeExtraOleas
Amber Cooper
Grace Chen
Violet A. Salticidae
Duncan
---+ Thank you to our Top Patreon Supporters ($10+ per month)!
Jessica
Chris B Emrick
Burt Humburg
Karen Reynolds
David Deshpande
Daisuke Goto
Allison & Maka Masuda
Adam Kurtz
Tianxing Wang
Companion Cube
Josh Kuroda
Wild Turkey
Germán Botón García
Mark Jobes
Blanca Vides
Kevin Judge
Jana Brenning
Aurora
monoirre
Titania Juang
Roberta K Wright
Anastasia Grinkevic
Syniurge
Supernovabetty
Carrie Mukaida
KW
El Samuels
Jellyman
Nicky O.
Cristen Rasmussen
Mehdi
Kristy Freeman
Scott Faunce
SueEllen McCann
Kelly Hong
Sonia Tanlimco
Noreen Herrington
Cindy McGill
Louis O'Neill
Misia Clive
Laurel Przybylski
Shelley Pearson Cranshaw
Jeremiah Sullivan
Joshua Murallon Robertson
Nicolette Ray
Caitlin McDonough
Wade Tregaskis
吳怡彰
Levi Cai
Shonara Rivas
kenneth nguyen !
Silvan
Delphine Tseng
TierZoo
Elizabeth Ann Ditz
Corvus Crudus
rafael pirondi
---+ Follow KQED Science and Deep Look:
Instagram: instagram.com/kqedscience
Twitter: twitter.com/kqedscience
---+ About KQED
KQED, an NPR and PBS affiliate in San Francisco, California, serves Northern California and beyond with a public-supported alternative to commercial TV, radio and web media. Funding for Deep Look is provided in part by PBS Digital Studios. Deep Look is a project of KQED Science, the largest science and environment reporting unit in California. KQED Science is supported by the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED.
#subterraneantermites #termites #deeplook
