Myth Conceptions

A swarm of subterranean termites that emerges after a termite job is done has always been an embarrassment for PCOs. Some entomologists believe this can occur after a group of swarmers had already gathered for takeoff in an old gallery inside a hidden wood member that is above the treated area. No soil or wall treatment could affect them, except possibly to stimulate them to emerge.

More embarrassing yet is the emergence of small swarms spaced several days or weeks after a full termite treatment. My explanation for this phenomenon is that satellites of the colony that are exposed to different heat sources (ducts, etc.) get the message that spring has arrived at different times.

A Hong Kong researcher observed that in a laboratory colony of Formosan termites, eight different swarms emerged in a one-month period. They numbered from 59 to over 7,300 individual swarmers.

University of Florida termite researcher Dr. Rudolph Scheffrahn believes an evolutionary process dictates that the reproductives be released at different times during the season for continuity of the species. Had they all emerged at one time, when predators (birds, frogs, etc.) were at their peak, there might be no survivors. Other researchers reported the same phenomenon, Scheffrahn said.

I asked Dr. Scheffrahn what happened to swarmers that were ready to emerge but were stymied by a long spell of inclement weather. He said they are cannibalized by the workers (natural recycling).

ANTS DO IT TOO. In my condo complex in Deerfield Beach, Fla., a phenomenon similar to the termite swarming behavior occurred. Carpenter ant swarmers dribbled out almost daily for several weeks during October and November 1994. This was the first time that carpenter ant swarmers were seen in the top floor of this all-concrete condo.

A new roofing coat had been applied to the raw concrete in January. The building consists of massive 6-inch-thick concrete slabs that were set in place by huge cranes. I surmised that the colony occupied the voids where the slabs abutted. The ants did well with ample water from roof leaks in these horizontal voids.

I wondered how the ants could live in a hot roof. Stoy Hedges, author of PCT's popular Field Guide for the Control of Structure-Infesting Ants, suggested that the heat of the day could be moderated to some extent by the cool of the night and by the air-conditioned rooms below. However, if it did get too warm, the ants could readily move below to the vertical voids where the wall slabs abut. When the new coating on the roof sealed the leaks, swarmers had no choice but to find an exit into the apartment below. One possible exit avenue could be where the butted edges of the wall slabs are often improperly plastered over, behind the baseboard.

MANY VARIABLES. When I called Dr. John Klotz, an ant researcher with the USDA Agricultural Research Service laboratory in Gainesville, Fla., he asked for specimens for identification. He said various species of Camponotus behave differently, and they are sometimes hard to differentiate. Klotz claims reproductives of different ant species vary widely in their behavior.

Carpenter ants mate in the air. Sexes are synchronized to meet appropriately. In a single flight, the female gets inseminated with enough sperm to fertilize its eggs for a life span of ten years of more. (With nothing more to do, the male dies soon after.)

Stoy Hedges asked what was the ratio of the emerging males to females. From what I saw, most were males. (Males have a much smaller head and body.) He suggested that this could indicate a colony decline because of stress or insufficient food.

Not all ants mate in the air. The pharaoh ant mates in the nest. The harvester ant mates on the ground in an unconventional manner. When the reproductives emerge, balls of harvester ants are seen on the ground. Each ball is a group of males swarming over a single female.

The more I read about ant biology, the more I appreciate the work our underfunded researchers are doing.

PCT contributing editor Harry Katz may be reached at Berkshire E-3076, Deerfield Beach FL 33442, 305/427-9716.