Click image to zoom

Insect India - Alates - Winged Termites

Winged termites, also known as alates, are attracted to light and are often the first sign of a termite infestation. They can be seen flying towards windows, light fixtures, and other sources of light like street lamps and porch lights in the late afternoon and early evening, like most nocturnal insects. Flying termites become visible when their colony swarms. Heavy rainfall and warm, humid temperatures provoke swarms, among other triggers. After a few minutes, flying termites shed their wings and crawl around on the floor, eventually dying. Termites (Isoptera) are invertebrates belonging to the detritophagous eusocial group of insects, which eat decaying plant material like wood, leaf litter, and soil humus. They are sometimes called ''white ants'' because of their pale color and physical similarities to ants. Here, swarms of alates are flying around an LED light bulb, while a common house gecko lizard waits to prey on them at Tehatta, West Bengal, India, on May 28, 2024. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)

Photo ID	#11286554
Date Taken	28 May 2024
Location	N/A
Photographer	Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto
Category	Human Interest
Copyright	© 2026 NurPhoto - Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto

Winged termites alates light attraction termite infestation flying termites windows light fixtures street lamps porch lights nocturnal insects colony swarms heavy rainfall warm temperatures humid temperatures swarms shedding wings crawling dying Isoptera invertebrates detritophagous eusocial insects decaying plant material wood leaf litter soil humus white ants pale color physical similarities ants LED light bulb common house gecko lizard prey Tehatta West Bengal India May 28 2024 Soumyabrata Roy NurPhoto.