Workers build the nest, tend the eggs, and feed and groom all the other members of the community. All species have soldiers whose role is to defend the colony. Diet Termites feed mainly on wood or other materials containing cellulose. The cellulose is partially digested by protozoans living symbiotically in the intestines of the worker. Enzymes produced by the protozoans break the cellulose down into parts that can be digested by the termites.
Some species feed on vegetable molds that they cultivate.
They have hard walls constructed from bits of soil cemented with saliva and baked by the sun . Inside are numerous chambers, interconnected by a complex network of passageways. Most termite species in the United States build their nests underground. These termites are destructive, tunneling their way to wooden structures into which they burrow to obtain food.