What is a termite? A plain guide to Australia's white ants
Termites are social insects that feed on wood. Most never touch a house, but a few species do serious hidden damage.
A termite is a social insect that eats wood
A termite is a small, soft-bodied insect that lives in a colony and feeds on cellulose, the main material in timber and plant matter. Australians call them white ants. They are not ants, and they are more closely related to cockroaches.
Most species never touch a house. A small number of them eat structural timber, and those few are the reason this site exists.
Why people call them white ants
The name comes from the pale colour of the workers and their habit of living in large groups. It is a label of convenience. You can tell a termite from an ant by three features: a thick, straight waist, straight beaded antennae. And (on winged ones) two pairs of wings of equal length.
Ants have a pinched waist, elbowed antennae and unequal wings. The page on termite or ant covers this in more detail.
How a colony is organised
A colony works as a group. Each member has a job, and the body fits the job.
| Member | Job | Where you might notice it |
|---|---|---|
| Workers | Feed the colony, build tunnels, chew timber | Inside opened timber or mud tubes |
| Soldiers | Defend against ants and other intruders | Beside workers when a gallery is broken open |
| Reproductives | Found new colonies | Winged swarmers near lights, then discarded wings |
| Queen and king | Lay eggs and sustain the colony | Almost never, they stay deep in the nest |
You will almost never see the whole colony. It stays hidden, because open air dries termites out.
What they eat and why that matters to a house
Termites digest cellulose with the help of microbes in their gut. That makes timber, paper and some plant matter food. In a house, the target is usually the soft, damp or untreated timber in a frame, a floor or a door jamb.
They often eat from the inside, leaving a thin skin of timber or paint. That is why damage can be advanced before anyone notices. A floor can feel solid and still be hollow underneath.
The problem is the hidden colony, not the single insect
Finding one termite tells you very little. What matters is where the colony is and how far it has spread. Both questions need an inspection, not a guess.
Some species nest in the ground and reach a building through soil or concealed gaps. Others nest in the timber itself. Which one you have changes the answer, and equally, nobody should name the species from a photo.
What to do if you think you have found one
Leave it alone. Breaking mud tubes or spraying with an insecticide from the supermarket makes the colony abandon that route and return hidden, so the damage continues where nobody is looking. It also destroys the evidence the inspector needs.
Take a few photos, note where you saw it, and book a licensed timber pest inspection to AS 4349.3. Treatment is for a licensed pest management technician using APVMA registered products. This site does not recommend a brand and it does not recommend doing it yourself.
Where termites fit in the wider insect world
Termites are old. They are a group of social insects found on every continent except Antarctica, and Australia has hundreds of species. The great majority live in forests, woodland and grassland and never bother a building.
That matters because it keeps the problem in proportion. Seeing a termite in the garden, in a stump or in a fallen log is normal. It is not a reason to panic. It is a reason to check that nothing connects that activity to your home, such as timber in contact with soil.
The few that do attack buildings are the ones to learn about. Pages on Coptotermes and the main kinds of termites cover them, with the same warning each time: identifying the species is for an inspector, not for you.
So the short version is this. A termite is a wood-eating social insect, most are harmless to you, and a few are very costly in the damage they cause. When in doubt, have the property inspected rather than guessing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a termite?
A termite is a small, soft-bodied social insect that lives in a colony and feeds on cellulose, found in timber and plant matter. Australians call them white ants, though they are not ants.
Are termites the same as white ants?
Yes. White ant is the common Australian name for termites. They are not true ants. They have a thick straight waist and straight antennae.
What should I do if I find a termite in my house?
Leave it alone and do not spray it. Spraying disturbs the colony, which then tends to return hidden. Photograph it and book a licensed timber pest inspection.
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
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission. Protect against termites: termite management systems and inspections
- Standards Australia. Australian Standards (AS 3660 termite management, AS 4349.3 timber pest inspection)