Distinguishing ants from termites is important, because there are several species of ant that infest wood, such as carpenter ants and acrobat ants, and swarmers of ants may look like termite swarmers.
Ants are distinguished by their bent or elbowed antennae, and narrow waist between the thorax and abdomen.
Termites have slender antennae, but not bent, and there is no narrow waist -- the sides of the abdomen are straight.
