Western Subterranean Termite

Reticulitermes hesperus

"Reticulitermes hesperus", the western subterranean termite, is a species of termite in the family Rhinotermitidae. It is found in Central America and North America.
For years I thought they were queen ants Imagine how disturbed I was to find out this is a termite. It rained a few days ago and they were flying in the backyard.  They usually come out in spring or summer months but because of the drought, they were out yesterday.  Geotagged,Reticulitermes hesperus,United States,swarmer,termite,termite alate,the western subterranean termite

Habitat

Adults and nymphs are preyed on by the larvae of the lacewing "Lomamyia latipennis". The lacewing lays its eggs on stumps and rotten logs and the newly hatched larvae make their way to termite galleries via crevices. Having found a termite, the first instar larva waves its abdomen and releases an allomone which paralyses the termite in two to three minutes; it then consumes the termite. Second and third instar lacewing larvae can subdue several termites at the same time.

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderBlattodea
FamilyRhinotermitidae
GenusReticulitermes
SpeciesR. hesperus