Termites can cause significant damage to homes and property, so it is important to know what termites look like so you are able to identify termites quickly.

So what does a termite look like? Termites can range from 1/16 to 1/2 inch in length. They are soft-bodied insects. Most species of termites are subterranean and spend their lifetime within the soil, shelter tubes they build or wood in which they feed.

Interestingly, termites have no eyes, so they do everything by feel and scent! (crazy huh?)

Worker termites are the most common and responsible for most of the damage termites cause.  They are the ones out foraging for food and building the termites tunnels.  They are often called white ants, since they tend to look very similar to ants.  They are small in size with soft bodies and white in color. 

Soldier termites have the responsibility of defending and protecting the colony. They look much like worker termites but they have larger heads and have mandibles for defense.

The termite soldier pictured is a subterranean termite soldier.

The largest termite in the colony is the queen termite. She has an elongated white body, the reproductive section, with a smaller dark head section. Honestly, she is one ugly critter.

The king termite looks like a dark version of worker termites, but is several times larger.  In the case of the Dampwood termites, the difference in size between king and queen termites isn't as great.

Couple things to note about king and queen termites: They mate for life, so the king termite sticks around the whole time. Also, there can be multiple kings/queens in a given colony. Each queen is capable of laying thousands of eggs. If you do the math, it really explains why a termite problem can turn bad so quickly. If you get several kings and queens working together, these little buggers will multiply like crazy.

Termite "swarmers" are newly hatched queen and king termites. They are winged and are sent out to start new colonies.

While termite colonies may normally go undetected, swarmers are obvious signs that you have a termite problem. Be on the lookout for their emergence from an already established colony around your house, or for piles of wings that get left when the burrow and start new colonies.

Swarmers tend to be attracted to light. If they emerge at night, they might swarm around some of your lights. You can also find them in spider webs around light sources.

So now that you know what termites look like, be on the lookout and deal with the problem quickly when you spot any signs of termites or termite damage.