Lesson 3
The Termite Lifecycle
Learning Levels 4-5
What is a lifecycle?
A lifecycle traces the stages of an animal’s life from birth through growth
and development into adulthood when the animal begins reproduction,
starting the lifecycle over.
Lifecycles are important to scientists who study animals. A lifecycle can tell
them many details about the animal’s biology, ecology and development
that could be useful in helping to increase that animal’s chances for survival
or in the case of pest species like termites, decrease their chances for
survival.
Starts Over
Ending
Beginning
The lifecycle of a termite is
unique in that it does not just
tell the lifecycle story of one
individual insect, but tells the
story of the birth and
development of the entire
termite colony.
Stage 1
Alates Leave Colony
Stage 1: Major Events
1. Alates leave the colony through
aboveground flight slits made in a
piece of wood by workers.
2. The job of the alates during this
stage is to find a mate.
3. They use their wings and eyesight to
find the nearest light source and a
potential mate…this process is
called swarming.
4. Swarming happens on windless,
humid nights near dusk.
5. Major swarming takes place AprilJune, but small swarming can take
place anytime during the year.
6. Swarming typically lasts only 30
minutes.
7. Not all alates in a single colony must
swarm on the same night; they
mature and leave at different times.
Stage 2
Now that the
Alates have
found their
mate, they
must move
onto finding
their new
home in
stage 2….
Stage 2
Start of New Colony
Stage 2: Major Events
1. Once alates have paired off, they drop to
the ground and break off their wings by
folding them back against a natural
crease near the base.
2. After alates loose their wings they are
called dealates.
3. The job of the alates during this stage is
to find a place to begin a colony. With
the female leading they search for food,
water and a suitable shelter.
4. Out in the open alates are vulnerable to
predators such as lizards, birds,
amphibians and other insects.
5. Alates are the future Kings and Queens.
The colony
has now
been started
and it is time
for the alates
to transform
into the royal
couple in
stage 3….
Stage 3
Stage 3
Alates Become the Royal Couple
Stage 3: Major Events
1. Colony growth begins slowly. The
Queen starts her egg production with
only 15-20 eggs.
2. At about 5 years old the Queen is full
grown and can produce 2,000 eggs
per day! If a human mother was like
the termite Queen she would be 60 ft.
tall and could make enough babies to
fill a baseball stadium everyday!
3. The job of the Queen and the King is
to reproduce.
4. There can only be one King and
Queen per termite colony.
5. The King and Queen do most of the
reproducing until they become sick
or die.
6. The average lifespan for the King and
Queen is 15-20 years.
The Queen is
on her
thrown and it
is time to
build the
termite
colony in
stage 4….
Stage 4
Stage 4
Growth of Young Nymphs
Stage 4: Major Events
1. Young termites are called nymphs. Nymph
is a common term used for the young
stages of insects.
2. Termites go through a growth process
called simple metamorphosis. This means
that the young termites look like the adult
termite and only make slight changes as
they grow.
3. During metamorphosis, the termite
exoskeleton is shed and re-grown several
times before they reach adulthood.
4. Once adult workers are present, they take
over the role of caring for the young
nymphs.
5. The workers will remove the eggs from
the Queen’s chamber to a designated
nursery area.
6. Scientists are unsure of how long it takes
for a young termite to reach adulthood.
Stage 5
The termite
nymphs are
growing and
the colony is
full of
activity, its
time for
those
nymphs to
get their
adult jobs in
stage 5…
Stage 5
Assignment of Colony Roles
Stage 5: Major Events
1. The young nymphs have grown
into older nymphs and are now
ready to take on their adult colony
roles.
2. The older nymphs perform small
colony duties and help out in the
nursery until the Queen is ready to
transform them.
3. Scientists are unsure of the exact
process by which the Queen
transforms the older nymphs, but
they know she uses chemicals
similar to hormones.
4. The Queen uses chemical
feedback from the colony to
determine how many of each
termite caste is needed at that
point in time.
Stage 6
The roles
have been
handed out
and now it is
time to get to
work in stage
6…
Stage 6
Perform Colony Roles
Stage 6: Major Events
1. Workers, soldiers and
reproductives are the 3 termite
castes.
2. Workers are the most numerous.
Their jobs include: digging tunnels,
building carton, feeding and
grooming other castes, foraging for
food and taking care of the young
nymphs.
3. Soldiers are less in number than
workers with 1 soldier for every 10
workers in an average termite
colony. The duty of the soldier is to
protect the colony from intruders.
4. The reproductives occur in the
smallest numbers, except for the
times of year when swarming
conditions are good. The duties of
the reproductives are to start new
colonies and maintain population
numbers.
Stage 7
Everyone is
doing what
needs to be
done to make
the colony a
success so
it’s time to
look to the
future of all
termites and
start the
cycle all over
again in
stage 7…
Stage 7
New Alates Form
Stage 7: Major Events
1. The lifecycle completes itself and starts
over when the alate nymphs once again
mature and are ready to leave the
colony.
2. When the conditions are right, the
Queen will send out hormones that will
help the alate nymphs mature into adult
alates.
3. Alate nymphs remain immature until
just before swarming takes place. The
full transformation happens quickly.
4. Any adult alates that do not leave are
not tolerated for long within the colony
walls.
5. All alate nymphs may not mature at the
same time, so swarming can happen in
different rounds within the same
colony. Thisincreases the chances of
the alates finding a mate from another
colony.
Making Sense of the Termite Lifecycle
The termite lifecycle is very involved and can take some time to learn. Practice
piecing together the stages of the lifecycle with a group using the laminated
puzzle pieces provided by you teacher. First match the label to the correct
illustration and then place all the events in the proper order starting with stage 1.
Good Luck!