Identifying the Formosan Termite: In order to control Formosan termites, you need to be able to identify them and know what you’re up against. These termites have been a problem in Hawaii since the early 1900′s. Since 1965, when a colony was discovered in Houston, Texas, they have also been discovered in areas of Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida. The major difference between Formosan colonies and native subterranean colonies is that of size and aggressiveness. While a typical native subterranean colony might contain 240,000 termites, a typical Formosan colony will contain 2-4 million termites!! A large colony may contain up to 10 million Formosans!

One of the first clues to alert you that Formosans may be present in an unusually large number of swarmers. In Louisiana, the Formosan swarms in May and June, while in Florida, the swarm season can begin as early as March and sometimes lasts through July. Another important factor is the time of day they swarm. Native termites are daytime flyers, but Formosans swarm at dusk. Because they swarm at night, Formosans are attracted to lights in large numbers. It if often possible to detect them around light fixtures, picture windows, mercury vapor street lights, and other well lighted areas.

Another characteristic of the Formosan colony is the large percentage of soldiers, usually between 8% and 15%. In addition to being more aggressive than native subterranean soldiers, the head capsules of Formosan soldiers are oval compared to the square or oblong shape of other species. Also, Formosan winged reproductives are yellowish-brown instead of black, and are somewhat longer than native subterraneans.

Although Formosan termites are subterraneans, they are also capable of starting secondary colonies above ground. These aerial colonies are formed in several ways. A true aerial colony is formed by a pair of winged Formosans finding suitable conditions in the house, but it can also be formed by the colony moving the primary king and queen from the ground to the house and cutting off their connections to the ground. If the above ground infestation is large and there are supplementary reproductives, they will take over and keep the aerial infestation going.