Difference Between Flying Ants and Termites

Understanding the difference between flying ants and termites can help protect your property, but can also save you an expensive visit from the termite exterminator. Although these winged insects look similar, there are distinct differences to help you tell the two apart.

The Difference Between Flying Ants And Termites Is Important

When ant queens and drones leave the nest to start new colonies, they have wings to help them explore new terrain. These swarming insects can look a lot like termites that swarm above ground for the exact same reason. If you're overrun by winged pests, here's how to tell if they're annoying ants or potential damaging termites:

• Looking closely. Flying ants and termites are both small insects and picking out detail can be difficult. The best way to be sure is to observe these pests with a magnifying glass. No magnifying glass handy? Take a picture with your phone or digital camera and zoom in for more detail.
• That hourglass figure. Flying ants have bodies that are broken up into three distinct segments and have a pronounced, narrow waist. Termites, on the other hand, have bodies that appear to be a single segment with no observable waist.
• Winged differences. While both insects have two sets of wings, flying ants have one large wing pair and one small wing pair. Termites have wings that are all the same size and are proportionately much bigger than their bodies. Also, flying ant wings are typically clear and have few veins, while termite wings are milky white and have many veins.
• Getting good reception. The antennae on flying ants are bent into an "L" or elbow shape. Termites, by contrast, have antennae that stick straight out from their heads.
• Signs. If you suspect that you have termites instead of flying ants, check you basement or crawl space for small tan or brown mud "tubes." Termites create these tubes as a way to get from their nest to a distant food source.