Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-11-11
Ternlites.

all, but belongs to the order OF NeuToptero,
which embraces the dragon-f1ies, the May
flies and the lace-wing flies; whereas the
true ant belongs to the order Hymenoptero,
which includes the bees, the wasps, the
saw-fies, the gall-f1ies, ETC., etc. The
termites are social insects, and live in I'M
mense communities, like the bees and true
ants. Like the bees and true ants, too,
they are divided into three classes, viz:
Males, females and neuters. The neuters
are again separated into two castles, COM
posed respectively of aborted males called
soldiers and aborted females called work
erS.
The soldiers have large heads and
strong manibles, fitting them for their sole
duty in life, which is to defend the colo
mics and fight to the death in the protec-
ton ofthe workers ard the helpless queen
mother of the community. The workers,
which comprise the bulk of the colony,
Outnumbering the soldiers by about 100 to
one, have rounded heads and short man
dibles. Upon them devolves the labor of
constructing nests, tunneling galleries,
collecting provisions, nursing the young
and waiting upon the queen. Strange
enough, both soldiers and workers are to-
tally blind, and execute the ingenious and
complicated operations involved in their
domestic economy unaided by the organ
of sight. The largest of the termites is
the Termaes 5elLtcdSus, which inhabits
Western and Southern Africa. The work
ers Of this species are one-fifth of an inch
IN length; the soldiers are twice as long
and weigh fifteen times as much, and the
males are four-fifths of an inch long and
weigh thirty times as much as the work
ers. The full-grOwn queen is two inches
inches in length and will outweigh 10000
workers.
All the termites are miners, and the
greater number are also architects and
masons. One species, the Ierm6s ab0raa3,
builds its nest in trees, sometimes at the
height Of seventy or eighty feet. These
arboreal structures are of huge size, like
sugar-casks, and are made of particles of
gnawed wood and cemented together, and
so strongly attached to branch that the
Sevcrest storm will not shake them from
their foundations.
The TerDaeS atr0r build their nests in the
form Of upright cylinders, which are
from two to three feet high, about five feet
in diameter, and are composed Of we'll
tempered black earth or clay. The cylin-
ders are capped with a roof whose caves
jut three or four inches beyond the circu-
lar walls, giving the whole the appearance
of gigantic mushrooms. But the most
wonderful architects among the termites
are the Tern1eS b6IltcaSuS, whose dome-like
dwellings rise to the height of from
twelve to twenty feet. Their outward
aspect is that of an irregular cone f1anked
with turrets, gradually decreasing in
height like the pinnacles of cathedral.
The external walls of this edifice are from
fifteen to twenty inches thick, and are
hard as rock or Sunburnt brick Under
the dome of the termitary, as the nest is
called, there is vacant space occupying
about one-third of the total height This
open story or attic serves to maintain
uniform temperature throughout the
structure. Just below the attic are stu
ated the egg rooms and nurseries, These
are little cells divided off by partitions
made ef sawdust, rendered solid by means
of gum- Under the nurseries on the
ground floor is the royal chamber, an OBJ
long apartment, with an arched ceiling
and walls pierced with circular openings
Round about this cell are distributed the
offices, which are also vaulted rooms,
communicating with each other by CORR
doris. Along the walls of the termitary
are ranged the magazines, in which are
stored gums and vegetable juices, solidi-
fed and in powder. There is no visible
entrance to these editices, the termites en-
tering them through long subterranean
galleries. Although built of earth, and
tunneled with corridors and cells, these
nests are so stout as to bear the weight of
q man, or even of a buffalo, and they
form favorite watch-tower for wild
beasts, which are enabled to overlook the
surrounding country from their SUBMITS
Should one of these termitaries be
broken into, an army of soldiers rush
forth and charge against the assailant with
indescribable fury. Being blind, their
attacks are delivered wildly upon the first
object that offers itself. If negroes are
the aggressors they are soon put to flight,
for the bite of the fighting termite is keen
as knife-cut, the insect hanging on to
the bleeding wound he has made until he
is torn from it limb by limb. During
the combat" writes M. Figuier, de-
>scribing the scene, :" the soldiers strike
from time to time on the ground with
their pincers, and produce little; dry
sound, to which the workers answer by
sort of whistling. The workers immedi-
-ately make their appearance, and with
their pellets of mortar set to work to stop
up the holes and repair the damage.
The soldiers then re-enter, with the ex-
ceptiOn of small number, who rem ain
to superintend the work of the masons;
they give, at intervals, the usual signal,
and the workers answer by a whistle which
means Here we arer as they redouble
their activity. If the attack recommences
l. -, y IL