Do Termites Have Wings?

What is the purpose of wings? Flying. 

Who got wings? Birds.

Are they permanent? Maybe yes.

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Here we got some surprises. The answer to the question of whether termites have wings or not is yes. 

Various types of termites have wings at some point in their life. Swarmers, kings, and queens, are the types of termites that have wings.

Termites with wings are known as winged termites.

But what about the purpose, is it more than just flying? Are they permanent? All these questions’ answers are mentioned in this article. 

What Kind of Termites Have Wings?

Do Termites Have Wings?

There are three forms of termites; soldiers, who protect the colony from predators. Non-winged workers who maintain the colony. 

And the last comes, the reproductive caste that includes swarmers, a king, and a queen. The reproductive caste comes under the category of winged termites. 

How do wings look like?

Termites have two pairs of wings. One at the front and the other at the rear. Both pairs are equal in length.

The color of the wings is either white or translucent. One interesting point is that the length of the wings is longer than the body.

Importance of Wings

Wings are very essential for establishing new colonies. This process is known as swarming and the termites performing this process are known as swarmers. 

During this process, termites leave their colony to form new colonies and reproduce. They reproduce as soon they find a suitable location. 

Wings are important as it helps termites swarm out of their previous colony and help them find a new one for reproducing, thus establishing new colonies.

Are Wings Permanent?

Wings of Termites

No, wings are not permanent. Once the swarm land, they shed their wings and start hunting for a suitable new location. 

These reproductives shed them as soon as they left their colony and got a new mate and place for reproduction. We can say that once the job of wings got done, termites no longer keep them.

Conclusion

Wings are very significant to termites. Their continuation depends on wings only making them an integral part of termites. Once wings are shed, the new termites develop their wings and the cycle goes on

These wings even help them look longer than they are as the length of the wings is twice the length of their body.

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Author

Daniel White
I'm Daniel White, and I live in Jacksonville, Florida. The warm and humid climate of Florida gives an ideal habitat for many different kinds of pests. So, if I had to live in Florida, I had to learn how to deal with these pests. Now, I have 7 years of experience in Pest Control.

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