The three-second check that works on a windowsill, plus what a pile of shed wings in spring is actually telling you about where the nest is.
Home › Species
Termite or ant? And which termite?
Australia calls them white ants. They are not ants, and the difference is visible from a metre away once you know where to look.
Three features separate them, and none of them need a microscope
Termites and ants are not close relatives (termites are closer to cockroaches) but they overlap in the one moment most people meet them: the flight. On a warm, humid evening, usually after rain, both send out winged reproductives. Termite winged forms are called alates, and finding a pile of shed wings on a windowsill is one of the more common ways a household discovers it has a problem.
Three features tell them apart. A termite has a thick waist with no pinch; an ant is pinched sharply between thorax and abdomen. A termite's antennae are straight and beaded; an ant's are elbowed. A winged termite's four wings are all the same length and much longer than its body; a winged ant's front wings are noticeably larger than the back pair.
Which species matters more than people expect, because the genera behave differently: some build obvious mounds or nests in trees, some nest entirely underground with no visible structure. And some are far more destructive to seasoned building timber than others. Coptotermes is the one responsible for most serious structural damage in Australian homes.
What we will not do is identify your specimen from a photo. Genus-level identification is done on soldier head morphology under magnification, and getting it wrong changes the treatment. What this section will do is show you the groups, what each typically does, and what to hand to an inspector so the identification is made properly.
Species guides
Coptotermes, Schedorhinotermes, Nasutitermes and Mastotermes: where each nests, what each eats, and why the genus changes the treatment.
Why a mature colony sends out winged reproductives, what a pile of shed wings on the sill proves and what it does not. And why spraying them is the wrong move.
A concealed central nest, foraging runs of tens of metres and an appetite for sound seasoned timber — and why that combination shapes the whole treatment plan.
No soil contact, no moisture and no foraging, so the soil barrier and the bait station were never aimed at them — and the hard six-sided pellets are the only thing they leave.
Nozzle-headed soldiers, dark carton nests on tree trunks and domed mounds in the paddock — and why a nest you can see says nothing about the one you cannot.
Major and minor soldiers in the one colony, a nest spread through stumps and ground-contact timber, and a route into the house that starts under the floor.
No grub and no pupa. Why that shapes everything from the timing of the swarm to the reason a supermarket spray makes the problem harder to find.
Pressure follows warmth and moisture, from Mastotermes in the Top End to the low-risk south — and why a cool climate buys time rather than immunity.
The third group needs timber that is already wet or decaying, which makes a finding in a house a moisture finding first and a termite finding second.
Termite protection is a maintained system of building design, a barrier or bait system, and an annual inspection — not a single product, and not the same everywhere.
What separates a registered termiticide from the surface spray under your sink, and why only a licensed technician buys or applies either.
Mud-lined tunnels or clean ones, frass or none at all: what the inside of a broken board points to, and what still needs an inspector.
Alates, a soldier's dark head, or a black ant: what each looks like, and why colour alone never settles which one you found.
A nest on the trunk, a hollow healthy-looking tree, or not termites at all: how to tell which. And why cutting the tree down does not always remove the colony.
Subterranean, drywood and dampwood: the split that actually decides what a barrier or a bait system can do, and why the genus name alone does not.
Why the species name almost never appears in the sentence that decides your treatment, and the four levels (species, genus, type, caste) people mix up under one word.
Mud tube, hard pellets, or soft wet timber: the practical kind follows from the evidence, not from a species name you don't have.
One species drives most of the damage statewide, and a second adds to it on the coast. What changes between the Sydney basin, the tablelands and the west.
The soil is home and the house is the pantry. Where ground colonies nest, why mud tubes exist, and why no visible sign proves nothing.
Soil barrier, bait or non-repellent: what a licensed technician does, why the colony has to be left undisturbed first, and what to ask.
Carton nests, mounds, hollow trees and nests below the slab: what each kind tells you, why finding the nest is not the goal, and why you leave it alone.
Tiny, pale and rarely seen: what termite eggs look like, why finding them means a nest is open, and why you leave them alone.
What a mound is, why many house-damaging species build none, and why you never knock one down.
Victoria is cooler, but termites are here. What raises the risk, and why evidence is left alone.
Both hollow out timber, but only one eats it. The clues that separate the two, and why you leave both alone until an inspector has looked.
Soldiers can nip when a colony is disturbed. It is rare, and the real issue is the colony you have just upset.
Ants, lizards, birds and echidnas eat termites in the wild. Why that does nothing to protect a house from a hidden colony.
Queensland is high pressure termite country. The species behind most damage and why you inspect rather than spray.
Tiny, pale and soft: what termite larvae look like, why you rarely see them, and why finding them means a nest was opened.
Flying ants, carpenter ants, lacewings and beetle grubs: the lookalikes, the features that separate them, and when to call an inspector.
How big workers, soldiers and winged termites are, why size cannot name a species, and what to do with a specimen.
A plain guide to the social insect Australians call a white ant: the colony, the diet and why the hidden nest is the problem.
One of the white ants behind serious damage to Australian houses: where it nests, how it gets in and why you leave it to an inspector.
What the defending caste looks like, why you might find one, and why it cannot name the species for you.
The giant northern termite of tropical Australia: where it lives, why it has a hard reputation and why an inspector names it.
A subterranean white ant of the south-east: where it nests, how it gets in and why you leave it to an inspector.
A snouted white ant of the south: where it nests, how it reaches a house and why an inspector names it.
Workers and soldiers live briefly, queens for years. Why the colony matters more than any single termite.
Sources
What this page explains is based on these official sources. If you check one and it does not match what you read here, send it to us and the article gets corrected.
- Department of Health, Victoria. Pest control — termites