The first reports started coming in to Kansas State University entomologist Don Cress in late March. Swarming termites look a lot like ants with large, equal-length, fragile grayish wings, he said. In Kansas, billions of them can go house-hunting during a single spring.
Most people miss the insects' flight, because the swarmers emerge so fast and disperse so quickly.
Often, the only result people notice is broken wing parts near windows and doors. But they don't seem to understand glass. And they can't escape when they emerge inside a home. Few of each spring's flying termites survive to establish new colonies. And that home colony is still going strong.