Termites are social insects with a caste system that includes reproductives, workers and soldiers.
Each caste has a unique role in the colony. What makes termites a concern for humans is the worker caste, which bore through wood by digesting cellulose material from structural timbers. A colony begins when the primary reproductives, also called the king and queen, mate and lay eggs. The eggs hatch into nymphs. The queen determines which caste the nymph will belong to based on the needs of the colony.