What is the key difference between termites and ants in terms of colony structure and wood damage?

• A. Termites live in colonies with workers, soldiers, and reproductives and typically cause wood damage from within; ants have queens and workers but nest within structures and do not damage wood in the same way.
• B. Ants live in colonies with workers, soldiers, and reproductives and typically cause wood damage from within; termites nest within structures and do not damage wood.
• C. Termites do not build colonies and do not damage wood.
• D. Ants can damage wood by tunneling inside while termites only attack superficial sapwood.

Answer: (A)

The difference being tested is how each insect structures its colony and how that relates to wood damage. Termites organize into complex, eusocial colonies with castes—workers, soldiers, and reproductives. They actually feed on wood cellulose and spend their lives inside wood, so they typically cause internal damage by hollowing out the wood from within, often unseen until structural trouble appears.

Ants also form colonies with a queen and workers (and sometimes soldiers), but most ants nest in soil, voids, or within structures without digesting wood for food. Their nesting can cause damage, but it’s usually by excavating tunnels for a nest rather than consuming the wood like termites. Carpenter ants can hollow out wood to create galleries, but the general pattern differs from termites, whose damage is a direct result of feeding on wood itself.

So the best answer reflects that termites have colonies with workers, soldiers, and reproductives and tend to damage wood from inside, whereas ants nest within structures and don’t damage wood in the same way.