Termites Swarming

It rained on Monday! Yes, it rained!  Enough!  Some of that enough meant the subterranean termites swarmed.  When a termite colony matures and needs to expand (usually when it's three or four years old), "alates," or the winged life stage, are produced for the sole purpose of reproduction and forming new colonies.  

They are in soil near the surface, waiting.  Swarming preparation is made around the same time in all the colonies in an area.  

The first day after a rain, usually when the day is overcast, and the wind is under 6mph, they emerge from the soil and fly off.  The first day is the largest swarm, subsequent days have fewer.  

They mate, shed their wings, and reenter the soil, forming a new colony.  Only 1 out of 1,000 makes it this far.  "Shed their wings" is not quite right, they actually break them off themselves!  They aren't needed anymore, and hinder their trip back into the ground.  I may find a pile of wings!  

Surprisingly, one only perished in the bird bath water. 998 other ways to go.

I'm glad I didn't miss the swarming.  I let Mickey outside and wondered what looked like fluffs all moving the same direction. Not fluffs as it turned out!  They all were flying over the Virginia creeper into the far back yard.

Oh, don't worry, these are not near houses!  While subterranean termites can infest houses, they need contact with soil and eat soft wood, and wood by-products, like the decomposing bark chips where they emerged. They form mud tubes and protect themselves from open air.  Drywood termites eat just what you'd suppose, dry wood with little moisture content.  Like your house framing!