West Indian Drywood Termite

Cryptotermes brevis — the West Indian drywood termite — is the SINGLE MOST DAMAGING DRYWOOD TERMITE in the world and one of about 470 species in family Kalotermitidae (the drywood termites — distinct from the subterranean termites in family Rhinotermitidae and the dampwood termites in Archotermopsidae, both also covered in the Wild Files). The species is native to the Caribbean (West Indies — the source of the common name) but has been transported globally with human commerce and is now established in essentially every region with subtropical/tropical climates and untreated wood construction — California, Florida, Hawaii, Texas, Mexico, the Caribbean, parts of South America, Africa, and Asia. Workers and soldiers are 5-6 mm long (much smaller than dampwood termites — see Pacific dampwood termite at 12-25 mm — and somewhat smaller than subterranean termites). The species' diagnostic features are SMALL BODY SIZE, pale cream-colored body coloration, and (in soldiers) DARK PHRAGMOTIC HEAD CAPSULE used to PLUG TUNNEL ENTRANCES against ant attack (the 'phragmotic' soldier defense — soldiers position themselves at tunnel entrances and use the dark hard head as a 'door' that seals the tunnel). The species is unique among termites in INFESTING DRY UNTREATED WOOD INSIDE BUILDINGS without requiring SOIL CONTACT or MOISTURE — most other termite species require either soil contact (subterranean termites) or wood moisture (dampwood termites) for colony establishment. The drywood biology allows West Indian drywood termite to: (1) ESTABLISH COLONIES INSIDE building wood (timber framing, furniture, wooden floors, wooden beams, decorative woodwork) without any external connection to soil or water sources; (2) SPREAD GLOBALLY through INFESTED MATERIALS — colonies in wooden furniture, wooden packaging, antique wooden objects, and wooden building materials can survive shipping across oceans and continents, allowing the species to colonize new regions wherever infested materials are imported. The species is the focus of major STRUCTURAL PEST MANAGEMENT programs in subtropical regions. The most dramatic control approach is WHOLE-HOUSE FUMIGATION — buildings infested with West Indian drywood termite are completely covered with a large polyethylene 'TENT' for several days, then fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride or methyl bromide gas that penetrates all wooden components and kills termite colonies inside the wood. The whole-house fumigation tent is one of the most visually distinctive structural pest management practices in modern construction and is a common sight in California, Florida, Hawaii, and other regions with widespread drywood termite infestation. Annual global structural damage and control costs from West Indian drywood termite total HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. The species is harmless to humans (no bite, no sting) but is one of the most economically important structural pest insects worldwide.