Word that is used to cover tail of malignant ant (7)

I haven't cracked this one yet — but the brilliant team at Times for the Times have:

TERM (word) I.E. (that is), insert T the tail of malignant. Termites are not in fact ants, they’re more closely related to cockroaches. While we were in France, getting our ancient house checked for termite presence in timbers was an expensive procedure, but legally necessary for a sale.