There are about 2000 termite species in the world and 5 of it are commonly seen in the Philippines. This includes the Formosan termites, Subterranean termites, Dampwood termites, conehead termites and Drywood termites.
The life cycle of a termite starts with a mating flight wherein termites from an existing colony start a new one by growing their own wings and start procreating. Once fertizilation is completed, the termites shed their wings and form a new colony. This colony will establish their new king and queen and will be sole responsible for the reproduction of the whole colony. A single termite queen can lay as many as 40,000 eggs each day.
These eggs hatch into a white larvae that molts into either a worker, soldier, primary or secondary reproductives, depending on their physical appearnce. Workers are the ones in charge of constructing the mud tunnels and chambers where the colony feeds, grooms, and where the queen and king will lay their eggs. While the soldiers, the ones with darker brown enlarged head, will e in charge of combat should the colony feel an invasion is coming.
Works and soldiers live for as long as two years while the queen can survive up to 10 years depending on the climate conditions.