Flying Termites Take a Dangerous Journey to a New Life | Deep Look

After the first big rain, western subterranean termites swarm by the thousands. Hungry ants, spiders and birds pick them off as they emerge from the soil. The survivors fly off to find mates, and quickly drop their delicate wings to start new underground colonies. If you’re really unlucky, they’ll build tubes of mud and saliva from their nest to yours.
DEEP LOOK is an ultra-HD (4K) short video series created by KQED San Francisco and presented by PBS Digital Studios. See the unseen at the very edge of our visible world. Explore big scientific mysteries by going incredibly small.
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These massive swarms of western subterranean termites happen once a year in California on a warm, windless day shortly after the first big rain that ended the dry summer.
Winged termites called alates push through the softened soil. They crawl out of cracks in the road and holes in tree stumps. Big-headed soldier termites stand guard to defend them.
Underground colonies send these alates up to reproduce with alates from nearby colonies.
Once a male and female alate find each other, their wings break off. The male runs after the female very quickly, before they both dig themselves into the earth and start their own colony.
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--- Do all termites fly?
Only some members of any termite colony can fly. But all types of termites (subterranean, drywood and dampwood) produce alates, whose job it is to fly out and start new colonies.
--- Do flying termites eat wood?
No. Once a pair of flying termites have hooked up, they lose their wings, dig underground, mate and lay thousands of eggs. They will be the king and queen of their colony. The worker termites they make will then leave the nest to forage for sources of cellulose, like a dead tree, or wood in a house. When they return to the nest, these workers will feed the colony’s king and queen, as well as the young termites.
--- Should I worry about flying termites?
If you see termites flying out inside your house, they could be a sign of infestation. But the more common signs of a subterranean termite infestation are tubes made from earth that worker termites build at the bottom of your house connecting wooden structures to the soil. Termites build these so-called shelter tubes from mud, saliva and even bits of wood or drywall. The insects desiccate easily and need these covered shelter tubes to stay moist.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
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#subterraneantermites #termites #deeplook

[@AisuruMirai]

human: "Hey, termites, stop eating my house!" termite: "Why do these idiots make their houses out of food?"

[@vykx88]

Imagine what the witch living in the gingerbread house must've felt.

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

"Why don't they do the sensible thing and make them out of poop, like we do?"

[@onkelpappkov2666]

@@dweebteambuilderjones7627 Humans actually do. Fun fact. Not their own, usually.

[@aiko9393]

@@onkelpappkov2666 some tribes in the desert still do, usually from cow dung but I was told they sometimes mix human waste in it too 🤔

[@juzu5223]

we eat those in the Philippines.

[@rararaddee_b7718]

These winged termites emerge after a rain, especially in the evening, and then swarm on light sources in their hundreds..a feast for the house gecko.

[@sagaramskp]

For geckos

[@uwisqurniabdullah3989]

And in the morning, breakfast for birds

[@Dynamo_studio]

Circle of life

[@adnanfh1650]

And you can catch them, and fries them

[@ngakanputuh.purwanta9583]

I release my chicken under them, they're great snack for the chicken

[@apollofell3925]

I remember my family took a fishing trip in the woods for my birthday in late spring one year while this was happening. I can't begin to describe how many there were, you couldn't find a surface in that forest that didn't have termites. We caught four fish the whole weekend, and every one of em had a stomach FULL of termites.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Never thought about the fish - neat info.

[@apollofell3925]

@@KQEDDeepLook As a child, it was mildly horrifying. 😅

[@jincyquones]

A massive swarm passed my house a few years ago. I was outside in the backyard at dusk, turned around, and it was like a fog had rolled in, except with bugs. Ran inside and turned off the porch light but it was there for a good 20 minutes. Worst thing was opening my window and seeing them all crawling on the screen. 🤢

[@favoritemustard3542]

@@apollofell3925 as a fish, I bet it was mostly delicious... ...a real treat, like flying pats of butter!

[@beaconblaster33]

get them termites and use them as baits

[@Sockfullapoo]

Thank you so much for taking a focus on the little things all around us. There’s so much to explore that people don’t even realize.

[@cow_ears2748]

my god, the name deep look just turned literal, i love this channel, the absolute level of insight they give in a five minute video and somehow make it FUN.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks cow_ears! #inspo

[@veiragumintang9435]

I see them a lot in rainy season. They usually emerge at night and like to hang around the light sources, such as lamp posts or light bulbs. There was actually an incident where I forgot to close the door at night and these little guys were attracted to the lights inside of my house. Long story short, the entire house were swarmed and I had to turn off all the lights so they could get attracted to the lamp posts outside. They're harmless, but to actually getting swarmed by them makes me shiver...

[@CHC31512]

Tried making a colony of termites but failed im also in the philippines and one night outside all of eduque playa and dayao were just swarmed with gamu gamo my friends we annoyed i was fascinated

[@jakubsolar4670]

I remember one Documentary about Termites from my Childhood: Besieged Fortress. Spoiler: Termites here fight against storm Flood, predators and even Ants that tried to take down and kill the Termite Queen. Fortunately, Queen survived and Termites won by killing the enemy Ant Queen. It was incredible documentary now when I look at it.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

We will look for that - thanks!

[@Kurominos1]

"sadly2 this whole thing is completly human made nothign in there was "natural" its just the crew did this and that to get the certain shots

[@jakubsolar4670]

@@Kurominos1 Well, it still taught us some facts, that's the Nature Documentary's major purpose. Or I'm wrong?

[@Kurominos1]

@@jakubsolar4670 sure it does but well still in a bit of a "wierd" manner prob the ants would never get so close to the queen and all but the film crew made it that way cause i remember from an documentary about theses army ants where they attacked an termite mount but abandoned the fight cause the chambers and stuff are to narrow for the ants to effectively fight /hunt (also sorry for bad english :) )

[@DrGero15]

@@Kurominos1 Which documentary was that?

[@VilcxjoVakero]

Props to your sound people for those pleasantly creepy crackling sounds (and the cute soldier-rattle). It really makes the action come alive for me. But it also makes me wonder about what bugs actually sound like to each other - is there any way to do an episode on that? A kind of microphone version of those special cameras you use?

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Many arthropods are extremely sensitive to vibration, though it is hard to know exactly how that compare to our human sense of hearing. We did do an episode on Jerusalem Crickets that looked at - and listened to - their courtship drumming. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3nFqHZjdq6siqc

[@MNation69]

@@KQEDDeepLook have y'all ever thought about using those laser microphones to capture the sounds of the insects and boost them/shift them into an audible level/range?

[@footfault1941]

A very unusual, strange way of folding wings, which looks awkward in beating them. Regardless, I've seen them airborne. So, that'll do. An excellent footage as usual.

[@aichi_d3a1]

Here in the Philippines whenever these termites start swarming our lights it usually means that it is going to rain after an hour or so upon the termites' arrival

[@casidy8194]

Ah another calm video as we learn of more terrifying creatures

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Calming and terrifying. Our show in a nutshell.

[@cicadafun]

A video about myrmecocystus honeypot ants would be amazing from you guys. They're native to the deserts of the southwest US.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Oh boy - you are going to be VERY happy in April. Just saying. ;->

[@cicadafun]

@@KQEDDeepLook I also think a video about the numerous fungus growing Macrotermes species would be great too, or even of the lichen eating marching termites called Hospitalitermes, in the future. Termites are one of my favorite eusocial insects. :>

[@halbronco7690]

@@KQEDDeepLook You mean you guys aren't just freestyling these videos off the top of your heads?

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Haha no - we usually have about 4-5 episodes in various states of production at once. We are just now filming our episode for April. And it just might be honeypot ants.

[@TrishitDas]

Now there is a video about honeypot ants 😃

[@karen2.]

Those termites looks so cute up close! Great job for the cameraman!

[@armel2467]

Here in the Philippines, we call those winged termites Gamu-gamo. That's the inspiration to one of Jose Rizal's literally work when he was a kid. He became fascinated by those winged insects as they fly around his flame lamp and one of the insects caught its wings on fire.

[@Ali.bbyyy1]

I used to see those all the time at my grandmas house in the Dominican Republic! I always thought they were “flying ants”😂 Thanks for the clarification:)

[@KQEDDeepLook]

They look similar, but the flying ants will have a skinnier waist, and their wings are not held so far back.

[@scp--un6pg]

Ive never knew these pests can be so cute up close!

[@mdhasiburrahman8806]

On of the best channel in entire KZbin, for entertainment.

[@son12son12]

Estava esperando ansiosamente por esse episódio, aqui onde moro, eles também estão acasalando Amo os vídeos, parabéns à equipe e aos colaboradores

[@viniciusgomes5147]

It's always a great day when Deep Look uploads! I'm always looking forward to the next video.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad to hear it!

[@Splarkszter]

Sound design, visuals, narration, emotion. 10/10

[@Machtyn]

I really like the close up videos of the termites in the trees. You can see other critters moving around in there. Some look like baby termites, but there seem to be other mites in there, too.

[@SusanHare]

There were mites on the heads of some of the termites, there were also what looked like springtails moving very quickly.

[@superyid2010]

These videos are excellent, short little bites of information about the animal world that are so fascinating.

[@sumararguin986]

I’m binge watching this channel. I love nothing more than learning about natural things! Insects, plants, animals, fungi… bring it on I want to learn about everything! ❤️

[@roberthoward2785]

Hello

[@jbchavhan8561]

It's too nice ..❤️ to watch life of small insect , animals, 🙂 cool and deep information about them you gave us ... really awesome...

[@vesterii4201]

This brings back my childhood memory when I lived in the province. After the rain they come out and flies everywhere, I don't know if I'm the only who felt magical with this scene🥰

[@cashmoney8485]

I lived in Yemen and yes i do feel the nostalgia of them crawling and flying after rain, me and my friends used to blow air into their house and then they all go out a fly we used to catch them and eat them but I used to really love them and the way they fly it was magical for sure

[@CrankyPantss]

Very interesting and well done, as always.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@DiligenceOfSurprise]

Woo! A new video to rewatch twice when I'm trying to go to sleep!!!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Sweet dreams!

[@macxavier168]

Deep Look, back at it again 🐐🐐

[@Pitachips22]

that is terrifying! good work as always.

[@narimansadeghi9121]

Deep look is the best chanel. Thank you all.

[@deepakb3140]

I always wanted to learn about these things that would fly into my house after rain.

[@GriseWeisshark]

I witnessed the swarm of those insects few years ago. After a light rain, thousands of them came out from the ground and dead woods in the empty lot in front of our house. It literally looked like something from a fantasy movie because they're flying everywhere. I actually thought they were just falling leaves when I saw them from our window until I went outside and had a closer look at where they're coming from. I wish I had my phone with me to capture that because it was an awesome sight and it seems like it is kinda rare to see their swarm.

[@-k.3-.]

You guys almost have 2m subscribers! That’s mind blowing! Great job guys

[@MrSamHideki]

I thought these were ants so I would pick them up and take them the nearest ant colony. I think I've just been feeding the ants.

[@DcCock]

A couple months ago, a house near ours was being fumigated for termites and a huge swarm of these suddenly covered our backyard. I wish we didn't have to kill them all but compassion won't keep them from destroying our house.

[@sairajsalunkhe2778]

Thanks For Such a High Quality Documentary!! 😊😊

[@dianrahmawati583]

im really curious why termites always walk following each other after their wings shed, and now i know, thank you deep look 💕

[@tracybowling1156]

I love learning facts about everyday creatures that I didn't know. That's why all of your hard work is appreciated by me!!!

[@gabrielaquiros1966]

Hi Tracy Bowling. I produced this episode of Deep Look. It's great to hear that you learned something new! Thanks for watching. -Gabriela

[@tracybowling1156]

@@gabrielaquiros1966 Hi Gabriela! What a great talent you have! I bet you had fun coming up with this episode. Without film makers/producers like you, YT and PBS and television in general would be much duller places. I would much rather watch a documentary than any other genre of film/short/show/video/movie!!!

[@verodeal4487]

By learning more about insects, this channel continually helps me counter my own bug phobia. I hope someday you can do an educational video on "rat-tailed maggots" which are my most recent nightmare insect. Please help me overcome my fears through knowledge!! Thank you😅

[@mythcat1273]

I love how bugs just bumble about like little whimsical fantasy creatures

[@leviathiane]

just this fall a winged termite flew right into my cheek... had no idea what it was at the time, I'd only seen termite workers. I brought it in to show my dad and he was like "why did you bring that in the house"

[@Amber12332]

I always look forward to new episodes. I learn something new every time 😊

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Amber12332]

@@KQEDDeepLook Thank you

[@kaunghtettun8857]

Very well made. Thank you ❤️

[@a-birb]

These tiny insects who spend their lives in underground colonies are so much more interesting. I could watch them for hours.

[@astick5249]

My favourite PBS channel

[@morgantilton4786]

I saw these guys in a forest in December last year! I don't remember if it rained before but it was super cool to see :)

[@olaf2174]

Love this channel. I already watch all the videos 😇😇

[@ozwynzorojo4440]

On certain times, tons of these flying termites swarm in my house mostly at night. They feel weird and they give me goosebumps, especially if they are in groups or they are squashed.

[@abobader4283]

Thanks "Deep Look" for this Educate, Today after the rain hundreds of them came out in the sky! So I search to know about them.

[@vonneo7079]

i used to play with these when i was a kid early in the morning thinking they was fairies and it was amazing

[@Hrithik_Rai]

The best in quality ...in content ... in knowledge ...good one

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thank you so much 😀

[@NoOnezZup]

Awesome series

[@vinodmane1]

I use to watch this when I was 5 and now I am 8 :) keep the good work!

[@figotcow8894]

Ok I'm addicted to this channel!

[@Tacomaholic]

Absolutely love these videos.

[@KQEDDeepLook]

More to come!

[@sayantanibiswas7204]

Love each and every video they are perfect 🤩

[@jacobobos]

I remember having to wait to see similar information show on TV with at least 15min of ads. My younger self would have been so amazed by these videos

[@williamoverton7775]

I just love this kind of voice.

[@iyzen6670]

Another Awesome video

[@ikaniraable]

I dislike it when termites with wings simply leave their wing inside the house...difficult it's to sweep those things because they're so light.

[@hokostudios]

Fantastic work, as always! Your termite videos are pretty neat to watch. Don't think I've ever seen termites in person, and I'm not sure if we even have any in the region where I live. If it's not strictly too cold for them, then they definitely keep a low profile!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad you like them!

[@LuisSierra42]

You would know if there are termites around you, trust me

[@kimbratton9620]

Deep Look is so fascinating!😃👍

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Such kind words, Kim!

[@rosewater1862]

I loved this episode!! Thank you so much for the content!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@stancexpunks]

So that’s what I saw while camping!! So cool

[@pastelk]

I remember catching a bunch of these before and I didn't even know they were termites until now

[@Peeper117]

They took "make your own kingdom" to whole new level

[@rajuhossain4994]

is just too much fascinating!!

[@dargnil9662]

Perfect Video Like Always 👍

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Thanks again!

[@DreStyle]

I love her voice almost as much as David Attenborough

[@Krish-su4oh]

Loved the video!

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@kamdeoray3573]

These guys emerge every year from the field right infront of my house and move throughout the city filling its skies Just imagine seeing hundreds of thousands of insects rising from a singular half a cm hole It looks.... Beautiful

[@jamaluddin9158]

Oh now I understand what all those insects were that are attracted to light sources on rainy days.

[@nephone]

Title: "Start your journey to a new life!" Thumbnail: (a spider will eat you)

[@Strawberrymilkdrink]

I had this happen to my school as a kid it's pretty hard to eat lunch when "ants" are flying everywhere

[@sonycrom1]

I didn’t know those were termites 😱 they came from inside my house like 4 years ago, but I just covered the hole with clay 😕 is there a chance they survived ???? 😳

[@SusanHare]

Yes, they most likely survived. The clay coved the exit hole, but would have done nothing to kill the colony. You might consider having a termite inspection done by a licensed pest management professional. Both drywood termites and subterranean termites send out winged alates. Your home could host either or both species. Treatment options are species specific.

[@CHC31512]

@@SusanHare i agree

[@subhajit785]

These always gives me goosebumps😧

[@katharinas7450]

I love your Videos soo much! I just wish they would lean more into 10 minutes than into 5.

[@lorenz5523]

When i first saw them crawling out of tree holes. It made me goosebumps 😱😱

[@prettypic444]

our apartment complex is older, with a courtyard garden, and got infested by these. the wings were EVERYWHERE

[@scrambledscreens3030]

Imagine being born as a termite and you're on everyone's menu list.

[@Dudemeister777]

Had a bunch in our house some months back. We couldn't figure out where they were coming from. We figured they came from outside, but I've always suspected that they came from holes in the walls or the floor or something, but my dads too confident to bother having the house checked professionally.

[@fern8276]

Love these videos soooo much 🤩🤩

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Glad you like them!

[@fern8276]

@@KQEDDeepLook Deep look deserves a huge respect for all of their hard work and amazing information ℹ️🤩👍

[@supernova8604]

I love this channel

[@monilcharola6873]

Awesome !!!

[@nonogermany7330]

They invaded my house. It was horrible. Glad that fire ants did help out clearing the bodies.

[@johnsummers1333]

Loved it.

[@enchantstv972]

Sometimes it hard to clean their wings around the floor. They most like like going near the light.

[@Asmodeus_1]

Where I live in Brazil they're called aleluias (Hallelujahs), they appear in the first rain of spring, my house would get invaded by thousand of them and they'd gather around the lamps at night, but now they come just in small numbers cuz of the urbanization

[@justayo4380]

Great episode! These termites are eaten as a snack in some parts of my country (Nigeria) either raw, or fried. They kinda taste like peanuts lol

[@FilbieTron]

I had no idea their wings were so short lived! Wow

[@molybdaen11]

Still one of the few lucky insect species which survive they first mating.

[@SusanHare]

Right! Not only survive the first mating, but remain mated for life. Very unusual.

[@smushkush3268]

Their wings come off so easily like they were attached to them with saliva

[@darkhoodchief]

They swarm so much here where I live that they often make piles underneath street lamps and lights that have been left open through the night.

[@playdeebug4400]

Tell us you couldnt afford David Attenborough without telling us you couldnt afford David Attenborough

[@0XBlondie96X0]

Imagine having such bad RNG that you get eaten by a bird seconds after you leave the colony

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

Anal trophallaxis is also referred to as proctodeal (anus-to-mouth) feeding. The other variant is called stomodeal (mouth-to-mouth) feeding.

[@brody3166]

Funny story, I woke up once to find my bedroom drowning in shed wings from these little guys. It really freaked me out. I think my air vent in the floor had an opening to the outside, and they all flew in while I was asleep.

[@maxhill9254]

thx

[@kingnothing2436]

NOW I REMEMBER I went in the middle of a battlefield with ants vs termites and my legs got bit up😂😂

[@KQEDDeepLook]

Ouch!

[@YSLRD]

As a teenager, I was downstairs ironing when a swarm of these came up the basement drain- and crawled up my legs! My dad got rid of them.