Interactions between termites and their niches seem to follow equilibrium biogeographic theory. Individual wooden structures begin free of termites and immigration begins immediately. Over time, all such structures should be infested by drywood termites, subterranean termites or both types. Immigration to a structure is for sustenance in the case of the subterranean termite and for reproduction and sustenance in the case of the drywood termite. This can be considered colonization of the structure as much as an perennial crop is colonized by its insect fauna.
In this work, individual structures of 1, 5 10, 20 and 40 years of age were inspected to determine whether they were or ever had been infested by drywood or subterranean termites. These data demonstrated the same pattern of immigration as seen in defaunated islands or in perennial crops.
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