If you think you have a creepy-crawly infestation, it is important to identify the type of creature, as this helps determine the correct treatment. One of the main misconceptions about termites is that people believe they are ants, often calling them “white ants.” While termites are typically light in colour—often white or cream—they are very different from ants. In fact, they belong to entirely different insect orders: ants are in the order Hymenoptera (along with wasps and bees), while termites are in Blattodea, which includes cockroaches.
Although both ants and termites are social insects, their anatomy, behaviour, and habits differ significantly. One of the easiest ways to tell them apart is by examining the waist: ants have a narrow, pinched waist between the thorax and abdomen, while termites have a broad, straight-sided body. Additionally, ants are usually darker in colour—brown, reddish, or black—whereas termites are pale, white, or translucent.
The Winged Insect
Both termites and ants swarm—a reproductive flight that occurs when a colony reaches maturity. These “swarmers” are winged adults that leave the colony to mate and establish new colonies.
There are several distinguishing features between winged ants and termites. Winged ants still exhibit the characteristic pinched waist, while flying termites retain their broad waist. Winged ants have bent or elbowed antennae, whereas termite antennae are straight. Both have two sets of wings, but ant swarmers have larger front wings and smaller hind wings. Termite wings, on the other hand, are roughly equal in size.
Behavioural Differences Between Ants And Termites
Though both insects live in large colonies with caste systems—comprising workers, soldiers, and reproductives—their feeding and nesting behaviours are very different.
Ants are omnivores, scavengers, and foragers, eating a variety of food sources. Termites, in contrast, are wood-eating pests that primarily feed on wood and grasses. Termites form ragged tunnels in the wood they consume and build mud tubes for movement and nesting. Ants do not eat wood, and while some species tunnel through wood for nesting, the surfaces are left smooth and clean.
Subterranean termites build underground nests and travel via mud tubes between nests and food sources. Drywood termites live directly inside the wood they consume. Ants, on the other hand, typically nest in the earth or visible holes, making their presence more apparent.
