Here is the honest opening fact: most people with termites never see a termite. The insects work sealed inside timber and soil, and what homeowners actually encounter is evidence — mud tubes, damaged wood, discarded wings. But when termites do show themselves, knowing what you are looking at changes what you do next, so here is the identification guide, caste by caste.
Workers: the ones doing the damage
The overwhelming majority of any colony: small — roughly four to seven millimetres — soft-bodied, cream to pale white, blind, and wingless. If you break into active workings (which you should not — more on that below), the pale insects streaming away from light are workers. Their colour is the quickest tell against ants: termite workers look almost translucent, never brown or black.
Soldiers: the defenders
Similar body, unmistakable head: soldiers carry enlarged, darker, orange-to-brown heads with prominent mandibles, and in some local species a pointed nozzle instead. They appear at breaches to defend the colony — the faint clicking sometimes heard in infested walls is soldiers signalling. Seeing soldiers means an active, organised colony, full stop.
Alates: the ones you are most likely to meet
The winged reproductives are the caste that leaves the colony on purpose — darker bodied, around a centimetre with wings, swarming on warm, humid evenings, usually around lights. This is the termite most Queenslanders actually see, typically in spring. The key check against flying ants: termite alates carry two pairs of equal-length wings, straight antennae and no pinched waist — the signs guide has the full comparison table. A swarm near your home, or shed wings on windowsills, means a colony is mature and close.
What to do with a sighting
The same rule as every termite discovery: do not disturb, spray or dig further — the found-termites walkthrough covers why and what happens next, starting with a $269 termite inspection that confirms species and extent properly. Identification from a photo is genuinely useful, so photograph before you close the cupboard.
We confirm sightings weekly across Browns Plains, Park Ridge and the Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich region. Call 0490 425 521 or request a quote online — licensed technicians, QBCC Licence 15104001.
