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Subterranean termites can enter buildings through cracks less than 1/16" wide.
Colony growth is slow, and it may take years before swarmers are produced .A mature colony of subterranean termites can range from a low of 20,000 to a high of 5 million workers, with an average of 300,000.
The colony's queen will add 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year to the total.
An average subterranean termite colony can consume 5 grams of wood per day, the equivalent of 2 1/3 linear feet of a 2'x4' pine board annually.
The termite colony is made up of different types (castes) of termites - each with separate work responsibilities.
Although subterranean termite colonies are largely located in the ground below the frost line, secondary colonies can exist above ground, and examples of true above ground colonies existing without any ground contact have been seen. However, such above ground colonies have access to moisture and often the source is a roof or plumbing leak.
Subterranean termites will often build mud tubes for travel between their colonies and their food sources.
The king and queen in a colony can live for 10 to 30 years, while workers live for about two years.
 While subterranean termite colonies are not the largest termite
colonies you can find, there will often be more than one of
them working in a single building. Signs of termites include
dirt-colored tubes built to serve as protected paths from
the earth to the wood the termites are feeding on, and the
translucent wings shed by the kings and queens during swarming.
Swarming usually occurs in the spring, but other, smaller
swarms can occur throughout the summer and fall.
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