Reticulitermes flavipes
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Reticulitermes flavipes, the eastern subterranean termite, is the most common termite found in North America. These termites are the most economically important wood destroying insects in the United States and are classified as pests. They feed on cellulose material such as the structural wood in buildings, wooden fixtures, paper, books, and cotton. A mature colony can range from 20,000 workers to as high as 5 million workers and the primary queen of the colony lays 5,000 to 10,000 eggs per year to add to this total.
The eastern subterranean termite (R. flavipes) is the most widely distributed Reticulitermes species. It occurs throughout the eastern United States, including Texas, and can be found as far north as southern Ontario. In 2006, R. flavipes was also recorded in Oregon, on the West coast of the United States.
Reticulitermes santonensis in France is now understood to be a synonym of R. flavipes. The species is now believed to originate in the southeastern United States and to be exotic or invasive in southern Canada, Europe (France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands), South America (Uruguay, Chile), and the Bahamas.
Eastern subterranean termites... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Buenos Aires | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 6 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States |
No species of the same family or order lives in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other insects.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Subterranean Termite sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 7 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 513th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June–July and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Eastern Subterranean Termite in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August–October and December–May, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Eastern Subterranean Termite sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in our data
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Eastern Subterranean Termite sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Eastern Subterranean Termite is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (7 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
