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Why do termites get such a bad rap? Just because these small insects eat the wood in your house, you would think they are the devil himself. Lets look a little closer at these creatures and see if they don’t turn out to be cute cuddly friends.

Termites, in particular, have a long history. Although their behavior and body structure are similar to ants’, the termites did not evolve along the same line. In fact, termites evolved from the cockroach about 150 million years ago. Modern cockroaches are known to be one of the oldest and most successful insects on the earth. Perhaps this long legacy gives termites their astounding tenacity and adaptability. Unlike cockroaches, however, termites exhibit complex and rigid social interactions in a colony. Particular tasks are performed by individuals specialized for the purpose.

Termites live in colonies with four main groups: workers, soldiers, immature individuals, and reproductives and each have particular roles in the colony. The workers, which are sterile, blind, and wingless, tend the eggs, feed the soldiers and the young, and maintain the nest. Microscopic organisms living in termites’ digestive tracts convert eaten wood to sugars that the termites can use for nourishment.

The soldiers’ only purpose in life is to defend the colony against intruders. A young individual will develop into a winged reproductive, soldier, or a worker depending on the current needs of the colony. Reproductives obviously supply the colony with new individuals. Only one pair of active reproductives exists in each colony. The king and queen are usually sealed into a chamber where they are taken care of by workers. The queen also circulates different chemicals among the workers for stimulating the transformation of immature termites into soldiers, workers, or “secondary” reproductives—members who will develop wings and begin new colonies. When a worker feeds the queen, the queen immediately knows if a particular group needs replenishing. For example, if a large number of soldiers were killed while repelling an enemy, the queen intercepts this information from the chemicals transferred from a worker. The queen then circulates a greater amount of “soldier chemical” in the colony by exuding the chemical from her body. Workers tending the queen take the chemical to the young who will eventually develop into soldiers. Pretty cool eh?

The defense mechanisms of termites have received a tremendous amount of attention from scientists. Soldier termites have a variety of weapons both chemical as well as physical. Some termite species bite their attacker and coat the wound with a toxic chemical that also prevents clotting. Other termites simply daub their aggressor with a built-in paintbrush or inject the chemical directly. Another type of chemical warfare employed is squirting, in which the soldier termite uses its elongated “snout” to spray the enemy with toxin. The spray may also be a gluey substance that entangles the invader much like a fly is caught on flypaper.

Termites have a lot of enemies. In Africa, the anteater may attack a large termite mound by burrowing into the mound with its large, clawed front paws. The anteater then licks up the termites like a Popsicle on a warm summer day. The damage done to the mound is sometimes fatal, for marauding ants, termites’ principal and most deadly enemy, can attack the colony. Because a particularly hungry anteater may open up whole sections of the mound, the termites have a greater area to defend, and worse, the queen may be exposed. Although termites have a tremendous chemical arsenal at their disposal, these insects are no match for a tribe of viscous ants in these extreme conditions. Much of the time, however, the termites can re-construct the nest before they are discovered, especially if the damage is not too extensive.

And then there is always Orkin, the human chemical company whose sole mission is to keep termites from eating your house. Termites do not have much defense against humans, but alas, there are billions and billions of termites in the world and their numbers are not in great danger at this point.

So, are you ready to take on this insect as a cute and cuddly pet yet? No? Interesting as they are, cats and dogs may still be the better bet.