Bug FAQLight Western Drywood Termite
Marginitermes hubbardi · Order: Blattodea · Family: Kalotermitidae
Source: Wikipedia
The light western dry-wood termite is a pale-winged species whose soldiers have a distinctive club-shaped third antennal segment. It lives in desert regions of the southwestern United States and Central America, often moving into timber-framed houses as urban areas expand.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Winged reproductives are much paler than those of the dark western dry-wood termite, Incisitermes minor.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Winged alates are about 13 mm (0.5 in) long and have a yellowish body with pale wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Is it a pest in the house?
Timber-framed homes are at particular risk as the termite moves into built structures.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Urban expansion is causing it to colonize human structures, especially timber-framed homes.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Nymphs create galleries in wood and obtain all needed water from the wood they consume.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It also occurs in desert regions of the southwestern North American continent.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be confused with the dark western dry-wood termite, but its winged forms are noticeably paler.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Arizona, Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell this termite apart from Incisitermes minor?
The light western dry-wood termite has much paler winged reproductives and soldiers with a club-shaped third antennal segment, unlike the darker I. minor.
Source: Wikipedia
What does this termite eat?
It feeds mainly on the skeletons of dead saguaro cacti, with nymphs extracting water from the wood they consume.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Kalotermitidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marginitermes_hubbardi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.