Termite Nest
Termites build a nest that contains the queen and king, the nursery and a large proportion of the soldiers and workers. Some species build a hard shelled mound above or partly below the ground. Other build their nests in the trunk of a or below ground in the root crown. A nest can contain several million termites.

Termite Leads
Termites are prone to desiccation. All the significant species that attack buildings construct a system of sealed leads that connect the nest to the food sources. Termites can move safely from the nest to the food and back, in an environment that will protect them against atmospheric conditions, predators and even pesticides.

Damage To Timber And Other Materials
Timber is the main source of cellulose sought by the commercially important species. Sometimes, other non cellulose materials are damaged because they are close to feeding activity. Electric wiring, switches and plug fittings are often attacked and severely damaged by termites. When natural food supplies such as trees run out, the termites will turn to timber in service. Using covered mud tunnels to link the food supply to the nest, termites will work in timbers that are hidden in floor, wall or ceiling spaces and the damage is often not discovered until structural failure takes place or the termites reveal themselves in some way. Termites can cause extensive damage and more than one colony may attack a building at the same time.

In order to minimise the extent of termite damage it is recommended that regular inspections be carried out by a competent and experienced termite inspector.

Coptotermes acinaciformis
This species are found throughout mainland Australia and causes more damage to property than any other species. It is aggressive in its search for food and will attack many items other than wood in its search for cellulose materials. It will damage wall lining boards, electrical wiring and even personal possessions. Colonies often nest in trees or stumps but can form nests without ground contact. There are several other species of Coptotermes in various regions of Australia, most of which are commercially significant and will cause damage to buildings. Only Coptotermes lacteus, common in eastern and south eastern coastal areas of NSW, is considered not to be of economic importance.

Nasutitermes
There are several species of Nasutitermes which may damage timber in service. Soldier termites are distinguished by their pointed heads. Nasutitermes exitiosus usually builds a low mound and is more common across southern Australia. Nasutitermes walkeri is more coastal in distribution in the east and north east. It builds part of it colony as an arboreal nest on the branch of a tree; the rest is constructed in the ground beneath it. This genus will mainly attack hardwood such as that found in fences and timber decking.

Mastotermes
Mastotermes darwiniensis, the Giant Northern Termite, is the most primitive of the commercially significant species. It shows an ability for sub-colonies to split off from the main colony and produce queens, without a mating flight. Eventually a network of interconnecting sub-colonies is established, which makes control difficult. These large termites, up to 13mm long, can devastate buildings, bridges, poles, live trees and crops such as sugarcane. Mastotermes is found mainly north of the Tropic of Capricorn across Australia.

Schedorhinotermes
These termites can cause damage approaching the severity of that caused by Coptotermes. They build fragile nests in old tree stumps, in timber buried in the ground, in filled patios and under fireplaces. The damage they cause is distinctive. Although it can be severe it is often patchy, with huge gouges taken out of sound timber, particularly around nails in floor boards or other timbers. Schedorhinotermes olonies contain major and minor soldiers of different sizes.

Heterotermes
Species of this genus occur throughout Australia. They are generally considered to do little damage to timber in service, restricting their attentions to weathered timber in fences, decking and posts. Occasionally they can cause superficial damage to sound timber. They may attack timber at the same time as other species, leading to confusion over which species is causing the main damage.