page_title: Bookworm (insect)
section_title: Termites
hierarchical_section_title: Bookworm (insect) / Other book-eating insects / Termites
caption_attribution_description: Camponotus herculeanus
context_page_description: Bookworm is a general name for any insect that is said to bore through books.
  The damage to books that is commonly attributed to "bookworms" is, in truth, not caused by any species of worm. Often, the larvae of various types of insects including beetles, moths and cockroaches, which may bore or chew through books seeking food, are responsible. Some such larvae exhibit a superficial resemblance to worms and are the likely inspiration for the term, though they are not true worms. In other cases, termites, carpenter ants, and woodboring beetles will first infest wooden bookshelves and later feed on books placed upon the shelves, attracted by the wood-pulp paper used in most commercial book production.
  True book-borers are uncommon. The primary food sources for many "bookworms" are the leather or cloth bindings of a book, the glue used in the binding process, or molds and fungi that grow on or inside books. When the pages themselves are attacked, a gradual encroachment across the surface of one page or a small number of pages is typical, rather than the boring of holes through the entire book.
context_section_description: Termites are the most devastating type of book eating pest. They will eat almost every part of a book including paper, cloth, and cardboard, not to mention the damage that can be done to shelves. Termites can make entire collections unusable before the infestation is even noticed.
  Powderpost termite
  Western drywood termite
caption: Hercules Ant (Camponotus herculeanus)
exif: {"Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D200", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "240", "Image YResolution": "240", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh", "Image DateTime": "2012:03:22 21:43:57", "Image ExifOffset": "218", "EXIF ExposureTime": "4", "EXIF FNumber": "16", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Aperture Priority", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "100", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2012:01:20 11:53:11", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2012:01:20 11:53:11", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "-2", "EXIF ApertureValue": "8", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "9/2", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Spot", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire", "EXIF FocalLength": "105", "EXIF SubSecTime": "90", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "90", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "90", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1280", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "800", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "157", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0"}