Termite Castes
Termites are social insects whose colonies are divided into "castes." Each caste has specific duties within the colony, and together they assure the colony's continued well-being.
The Queen
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The Queen is the colony's primary or sole reproductive female. Her duties are to lay eggs and regulate the activities and development of the rest of the colony's members through a complex system of chemical messengers called pheromones.
Termite queens can produce tens of millions of eggs every year. But as if that wasn't bad enough, mature termite colonies often have supplemental reproductives who also lay eggs (although they don't share in regulation of the colony, as far as we can tell). The rapid growth potential of a termite colony is one reason why termite control should always be done by trained, certified exterminators.
The King
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The king is the sole or primary or male reproductive member in a termite colony.
Once upon a time, he and the queen departed their parent colony with hundreds or thousands of other couples, all seeking to establish colonies of their own. The vast majority died in the attempt, but this lucky pair survived.
That very first year, the king assisted the queen in feeding, grroming, and nurturing their first batch of offspring. But as those young termites grew up and became workers, the king settled back to a life consisting solely of reproduction.
Worker Termites
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In termite society, the vast majority of a colony's members are workers. These cream-colored, grub-like insects are responsible for foraging for food, caring for and feeding the young, building shelter tubing, and performing the colony's housekeeping duties.
Workers also are the the only termites who cause damage to homes. The rest of the colony members don't have mouthparts adapted for chewing wood, and so they must be fed by the workers.
Mature termite colonies typically contain thousands of workers.
Alates or Swarmer Termites
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Alates (or swarmers) are sexually mature, winged termites.
Swarmers leave their parent colonies (usually in the spring) in groups usually numbering in the thousands of mating pairs, with the singular goal of establishing colonies of their own.
Most alates die in the attempt, their carcasses and shed wings scattered along door and window frames, sill plates, and basement walls. Often these dead swarmers are the first sign that a home has termites.
Soldier Termites
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Soldier termites are produced only by mature, established colonies. The soldiers' job, as their name implies, is to protect the colony from attack by predators.
Whenever the colony is disturbed (for example, if a shelter tube is broken), soldiers rush to the scene of the break and stand in the breach to defend the colony.
Soldiers have large, armored heads and powerful mouthparts adapted for defense. They do not directly cause damage because they are unable to chew wood and must depend on the workers to feed them.