Pacific Dampwood Termite

Also known as Rottenwood Termite, Dampwood Termite

Pacific dampwood termites are primitive, unusually large termites that live entirely within damp, decaying logs, never needing soil contact as long as wood retains sufficient moisture. Instead of a dedicated true worker caste, developing juveniles known as pseudergates perform foraging, nest maintenance, and brood care duties. On warm late-summer evenings, swarms of large, chestnut-brown winged reproductives emerge at dusk to mate and establish new colonies in damp deadwood across Pacific coastal forests.