Do Termites Have a Queen?
Key Points
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Lifespan: Termite queens can live anywhere from 25 to 50 years.
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Role: Her main job is laying eggs to build the colony’s population.
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Control: She uses pheromones to stop other termites from becoming queens.
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Appearance: Subterranean queens range from pale yellow-brown to black and are significantly larger than workers.
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Growth: A colony can grow from 1,000 to 300,000 workers in just a few years.
In a termite colony, the queen is responsible for laying eggs to sustain the colony's growth and survival.
Queen Termite in Colony
What does a termite queen look like?
A subterranean termite queen can vary in color from pale yellow-brown to black. Secondary reproductives in subterranean species are typically white or very light in color - the same color as worker termites for that species.
Role of the Queen Termite
After pairing with a male termite, known as the king, the queen's primary role is to establish and populate the colony. She finds a suitable nesting location, helps excavate it, and begins to lay eggs. These first eggs hatch into workers who take over the nest-building and foraging duties.
The queen and king are cared for by worker termites within a protected royal chamber. The workers feed and groom them, allowing the queen to focus solely on her main function: laying eggs every day.
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Egg Production: The queen's egg-laying starts slowly but increases each year as the colony grows. Once the secondary queens, which are produced within the colony, begin egg-laying, colony size (number of workers) increases rapidly.
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Peak Performance: A mature queen can maintain peak egg production for 7 to 10 years.
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Climate's Impact: In tropical climates, egg-laying is a year-round activity. In more temperate regions, there may be a pause during the colder winter months.
Primary Reproductives
The queen, king and alates (termite swarmers) are considered the primary reproductives in a colony. In some cases, secondary or tertiary reproductives also can produce offspring. These secondary or tertiary reproductives do not have wings, although they may have wing buds.
When weather conditions are optimal, the queen produces alates, which will leave the nest to form new colonies.
When male and female winged termites mate to form a new colony, they first locate a suitable nest and hollow it out. Then, the queen begins laying eggs and cares for the first eggs. Once the queen lays enough eggs to establish a worker caste, the workers will begin caring for the eggs and expanding the size of the nest.
Secondary and Tertiary Reproductives
These are the "backup" queens. They don’t have wings, though they might have wing buds. The queen controls the colony size using pheromones. She produces a chemical scent that circulates through the colony to block other termites from developing into queens.
Once the colony reaches a certain size, she may permit the development of secondary and tertiary reproductives. These reproductives create satellite nests near the colony and begin laying eggs. Once these satellite nests are established, the colony will begin to grow at an exponential rate.
What happens when a termite queen dies?
When the queen dies, that chemical blockade (the pheromone) disappears. Without it, secondary reproductives are finally free to develop.
In species like Reticulitermes, the original queen and king can be replaced by numerous secondary reproductives. Instead of one queen ruling the roost, you end up with multiple queens hyper-charging the colony's growth.
Queen Termite Lifespan
A queen termite has a long lifespan and is typically the oldest termite in the colony. Termite queens can live 25 to 50 years, with peak egg production for up to 10 years. When the queen dies and the pheromone she uses to block reproductives' development is no longer produced, a new queen will develop in the colony.
Termite Control
Termite colonies can grow from 1,000 workers to 300,000 workers in just five years. Don't give them that kind of time. We’ll help you dethrone the queen and take back your home. Schedule an appointment to get a free termite inspection from a professional Orkin Pro.
Learn More About Termites
How to Identify Termite Activity
Familiarize yourself with the signs to look for to determine if you have a termite infestation.
Follow the life cycle of a termite from mating to adulthood.
Termite eggs are very small, white and oval-shaped and are laid deep inside termite nests.
Next to the queen termite, the king is the most important member of the colony when it comes to keeping the colony well populated.