Western drywood termite colony. Credit: Dong-Hwan Choe/UCR Drywood termites are experts at staying out of sight. They live inside wooden structures, quietly feeding and expanding their colonies where homeowners may not notice them until damage is already underway. But their hidden lifestyle also depends on a vulnerable biological process: molting. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have shown that bistrifluron, a chemical that blocks the formation of new termite exoskeletons,