In heated buildings ant activity may continue later in the fall and begin earlier in the spring than is usual with outdoor colonies. The most common variety is black, although some of the varieties of less importance are partly red. In the early life of the colony, the ants produce wingless workers. After three or more years some of the ants, born with wings as reproductive males and females, swarm and mate. The females attempt to start new colonies.
Termites eat the wood in which they live.
For this reason, unlike carpenter ants, termite workers are seldom seen outside their nest tunnels. Mating takes place in flight during late spring and early summer when winged males and females leave an old colony. The male dies soon after mating and the female, called the queen, locates a nesting place in wood. She then excavates a small chamber in which she secludes herself and lays her first eggs. When the eggs hatch, the queen nourishes the larvae until they are fully developed.