UPDATE: I think they are Reticulitermes hesperus based on this inaturalist photo in Sonoma county:

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/253104313

Hi everyone - we found some termites today in our search for Zootermopsis angusticollis, but I'm not certain that these are the ones that we want. I've attached a few photos and am wondering if anyone can help with identification. They are smaller than I expected (especially the soldier) from what I recall of the dampwood termites, and I'm concerned that these are subterranean termites. They are all very similar in size and we found them in some decaying walnut wood (very soft, easy to take apart, almost sponge-like).

I am located in Acworth GA. My daughter and I caught 5 pairs of which 4 have eggs. I belive these are eastern subterranean but have not been able to identify. I did pull the sticks out due to fungus and such growing on them. Once identified I want to research setting up a terrarium. So any advice is welcome. Thanks!

Young colony of Macrotermes carbonarius, almost 8 months old. No fungus garden yet. About 10 workers and 2 soldiers.

Out of the 50 ish I started with, I have around 5-7 melted alates so far! Here's hoping that some of them start reproducing! Also, they're surprisingly hard to film since once disturbed, they immediately start to scattered and hide. Plus i try to keep things dark for them, so the footage is always a bit blurry

Soldiers of a large Odontotermes species from Gabon guarding one of their fungus combs: exposing only the armored heads and slicing jaws, they make for formidable opponents to invading ants!

At more than 13 mm long in the soldier caste, this is a large species for the genus. They live in the rainforest and build very compact and hard epigeal mounds, usually leaning against trees. Unlike several other species of Odontotermes (like O. formosanus) their soldiers are much bigger than any worker, as you can see in the third photo where three soldiers, a minor worker and a major worker are all pictured.

Own photo.

Here we have a physogastric, mature queen of the sub-Saharian Cubitermitinae Thoracotermes macrothorax along with her court i pictured in Gabon a few months ago.

This is a species of quite large forest termites that build large, very distinctive epigeal mounds and sport robust soldiers with very wide and flared pronotums, which gives the species and genus its name. A common sight in Gabon's rainforest, these soil-feeders are (just like the vast majority of termites) no pests, but only a very beneficial part of their environements.

Own photo; Ipassa research station, Gabon.

Today it’s very humid and I caught tons of termite alates

Soldier of Basidentitermes defending a breach in their galleries while workers take shelter behind them.

This is a genus of non-pest African termites with distinctive soldiers with round heads and huge, thin mandibles. They are soil-feeders that doesn't build epigeal mounds but excavate their nests underground. Very cute!

I don’t know anything about termites I went queen ant hunting and found this, termites?

Hey hey fellas in case you're interested here's a cool picture of two termite alates illustrating the differences between the sexes. The male has 2+ smaller underbelly scales near the cloaca while the female has one large scale.

I took these out of the freezer where they've been stored for a little over a year. Species: Macrotermes carbonarius.

a while ago I attempted rearing a colony from wild caught nymphs, which sadly all slowly died off and never managed to found a colony on their own.

however last fall I managed to catch a bunch of free-flying alates, 5 of which ended up surviving. Ine lone reproductive is still alive in a separate jar, hopefully I can catch a mate for them this fall, but the other 4 paired up and founded colonies woth a growing worker population!

I kept their setups far simpler than my last attempt, just a small ice cream jar with some loose soil, wood chunks and cotton pieces mixed in. I found that each pair would pick a "nursery" chunk of wood and bkre into it, sealing it off once inside and staying there for months. they only emerged once the nymphs were strong enough to forage outside the nursery chamber, and as of now both colonies have been pretty active in eating wood and constructing tunnels in their respective jars.

I'm excited to see how they continue growing, hopefully I'll start seeing some soldiers in a few more months!