Hawaii is home to several termite species, and flying termites are one of the most visible signs of their activity. These winged insects, called alates or swarmers, emerge from mature colonies to mate and start new ones. If you’re seeing clouds of small winged insects around lights on a warm, humid evening in Hawaii, you’re almost certainly looking at a termite swarm.
Why Termites Swarm in Hawaii
Swarming is how termite colonies reproduce on a larger scale. A mature colony produces thousands of winged males and females that leave the nest all at once, usually triggered by warm temperatures and high humidity. Hawaii’s tropical climate makes it one of the most termite-active places in the United States, with swarms occurring more frequently and from more species than on the mainland.
Once airborne, males and females pair off during flight. After finding a mate, they drop to the ground, shed their wings, and form a distinctive “train” where the female leads and the male follows close behind. They sprint across the ground searching for a suitable nesting site. If they find one, they settle in and begin laying eggs to start an entirely new colony. Each successful pair can eventually produce a colony of hundreds of thousands of termites, which is why even a single swarm season can significantly increase termite pressure on a neighborhood.
Species You’ll See in Hawaii
Hawaii hosts both subterranean and drywood termite species, and each swarms at different times of year. The Formosan subterranean termite is the most destructive. Its swarmers are yellowish-brown, about half an inch long, and tend to emerge in huge numbers on warm, humid evenings between May and July. They’re strongly attracted to lights, which is why you’ll see them swarming around streetlights, porch lights, and illuminated windows.
Drywood termites also swarm in Hawaii, though their flights tend to be smaller and less dramatic. These species live entirely inside the wood they eat, rather than in underground nests. Their swarmers are typically darker and slightly smaller than Formosan swarmers. West Indian drywood termites are common on the islands and can swarm at various times throughout the year.
Flying Termites vs. Flying Ants
Flying ants also swarm in Hawaii, and the two insects are easy to confuse at a glance. A few details make identification straightforward. Termite swarmers have a straight body that extends back from the head with no pinched “waist.” Their antennae are straight, and their front and hind wings are nearly equal in length, pale, and translucent. Flying ants, by contrast, have a pinched wasp-like waist, elbowed antennae, and front wings that are noticeably longer than the hind wings with a brownish tint. Ant bodies are typically black, brown, or reddish.
If you catch one of the insects and look closely, wing shape alone is usually enough to tell. Termite wings look like two identical pairs stacked together. Ant wings look mismatched.
What a Swarm Means for Your Home
Seeing swarmers outside, especially near outdoor lights, doesn’t necessarily mean your home is infested. Those termites likely came from a colony somewhere nearby underground or in a neighboring tree. Most swarmers that land on the ground will fail to establish a colony.
Swarmers emerging from inside your home are a different story. If you see winged termites crawling out of walls, ceilings, or floors, or find large numbers of them indoors (especially with piles of shed wings on windowsills or near light fixtures), there is very likely an active colony feeding on your structure. Large numbers of Formosan swarmers appearing indoors indicate a large, well-established colony that has been feeding for years.
Even a few swarmers inside should prompt closer inspection, but dozens or hundreds is a serious warning sign.
Other Signs of Termite Activity
Beyond swarmers, there are physical clues that termites have moved in. For drywood termites, the most telltale sign is small piles of dry, six-sided pellets on floors, countertops, or windowsills. These are fecal pellets that drywood termites push out of tiny “kick-out holes” in the wood they’re eating. The pellets are remarkably uniform in size and shape, almost like grains of sand with flat sides.
Subterranean termites, including Formosans, build mud tubes along foundations, walls, and other surfaces to travel between their underground nest and the wood they’re feeding on. These pencil-width tubes made of soil and saliva are often visible on concrete block walls, along pipes, or in crawl spaces. You might also notice wood that sounds hollow when tapped, paint that bubbles or appears wavy, or doors and windows that suddenly stick in their frames as structural wood is eaten from the inside out.
Treatment Options in Hawaii
Treatment depends on which type of termite you’re dealing with. For subterranean termites, including Formosans, two main approaches are used. Soil insecticides create a chemical barrier in the ground around and beneath a structure. When termites pass through the treated soil, they pick up the chemical and die. Baiting systems take a different approach: stations are placed around the perimeter of the home, and when termites are detected feeding in a station, bait is introduced. Worker termites carry the bait back to the colony and share it through normal feeding, which eventually kills the colony from within by interfering with the termites’ ability to grow and develop.
Drywood termites require a different strategy because they live inside the wood rather than in the soil. Localized treatments can work for small, isolated infestations, but whole-structure fumigation (tenting) is the standard for widespread drywood infestations. During fumigation, the entire building is sealed under a tent and filled with gas that penetrates the wood and kills termites throughout the structure.
Reducing Swarm Attraction
You can’t prevent termite swarms from happening, but you can make your home less inviting. During swarm season, turn off unnecessary exterior lights in the evening or switch to yellow “bug lights,” which are less attractive to swarmers. Close windows and doors during peak swarming hours, typically just after sunset. If you see a swarm happening near your home, turning off interior lights visible from outside can help reduce the number of swarmers that land near your walls and foundation.
Longer term, eliminate wood-to-soil contact around your home, fix leaky pipes and faucets that create moisture in walls or crawl spaces, and keep firewood and scrap lumber stored well away from the house. In Hawaii’s climate, annual termite inspections are a practical investment. Catching an infestation early, before a colony matures enough to swarm, can save tens of thousands of dollars in structural repairs.