Winged insects are swarming indoors. Which features show they are termites and not ants?
- Elbowed antennae, thin waist, equal wings
- Straight antennae, thin waist, unequal wings
- Straight antennae, thick waist, equal wings
- Elbowed antennae, thick waist, unequal wings
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C. Straight antennae, thick waist, equal wings
Termite swarmers have straight, bead-like antennae, a broad waist and two pairs of wings of equal length. Winged ants have elbowed antennae, a pinched waist and front wings longer than the hind wings.
Reference: Structural pest control manual: termites and other wood-destroying organisms
Small piles of hard, six-sided pellets collect on a windowsill below tiny holes in the wood trim. This indicates:
- Drywood termites
- Subterranean termites
- Carpenter ants
- Carpenter bees
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A. Drywood termites
Drywood termites push their dry, six-sided fecal pellets out of the galleries through kick-out holes. Subterranean termites use their feces in building tubes and gallery linings, so no pellet piles form.
Reference: Structural pest control manual: termites and other wood-destroying organisms
Damaged floor joists have galleries that follow the grain, with the soft spring wood eaten away and the galleries lined with mud-like material. This is the work of:
- Drywood termites
- Carpenter ants
- Old house borer beetles
- Subterranean termites
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D. Subterranean termites
Subterranean termites eat along the grain, prefer the softer spring wood and leave soil and fecal material in the galleries. Drywood galleries are clean and cut across the grain; carpenter ant galleries are smooth and free of soil.
Reference: Structural pest control manual: termites and other wood-destroying organisms