Subterranean foraging galleries of a colony of C. formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) were excavated in a filled, swampy area about 2 miles west of Lake Charles. Branches from 3 main galleries radiating from a dead baldcypress tree ramified over about 1.4 acres. These galleries were connected with food sources more than 200 feet from the original starting point. Species of trees attacked included dead baldcypress, dead pine, live wax myrtle, and live Chinese tallow. Live pine was not attacked by this termite. Most of the galleries were lined with carton material that varied in thickness and the galleries ranged from 2 to 46 inches deep. Vertical galleries branched from horizontal galleries and extended to the water table. A subterranean carton nest that contained 6 supplementary queens was found 19 inches below the soil surface and 25 feet from the nearest food source. Based on the date the swampy area was filled, it was apparent that this gallery system was less than 10 years old.
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King et al. (1969) studied this question.