Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-06-02
Insects In India.

You have recently arrived in the coun-
try, are living in kutcha house Quilt
of sun-dried bricks and mud-mortar,) }
have made yourself comfortable therein,
and are going 10 have your first dinner
party. All your knick-knacks are proud
ly displayed on your table, and in its
center blazes your lamp, just unpacked.
The dinner hour approaches, and you
neverously take look round to see that
all is right. One or two insects, new to
you. are fluttering about the lamp or on
the table, and IN brushing them off you
perhaps notice that the same insects are
swarming out of a corner from the floor.
Your guests arrive; and while receiving
and marshaling them into dinner the in
sect invasion has assumed formidable
proportions, so that when you sit down
to soup You find the air around the lamp
alive with termites, and your fair cloth
covered with them. Every soup-plate is
stuffed with them, as also your glasses of
sherry. In despair you appeal to the
company, or to your table attendant,
and arc advised to remove the lamp at
once from the table. On doing so, the
invaders ON the wings are diverted; and
then you notice that the thousands on
the table have dropped their wings
broadcast, and are now chasing one an
other about. In comparative darkness
you finish your dinner and adjourn to
the drawing room. When your guests
have left curiosity takes you back to the
dinng-room; and you find the table and
the site of the removed lamp strewn
with myriads of wings, and their own
ers nowhere.
Watch the insects outside and the
sight is equally wonderful. From spot
in the ground where you would least ex-
pect it you find one or two termites flut-
tering in the air; watch them narrowly
and you will find a minute hole, far too
minute for the hordes which are squeez-
ing out of it and then rising into the air.
Around the hole half-a-dOzen wingless
workers are fussing frantically. But let
us watch the perfect insects, and return
afterward to the workers. Soon we see
a pyramidal cloud of insects in the air,
the apex resting over the hole. This be-
comes denser and spreads wider as the
breeze catches their wings. News of the
flight have been telegraphed far and
wide. Sparrows and crows, fly catchers
and king-crows, kites and mynas, flock
to the scene and gorge ON the fliers.
(Kites feast labyo,lsly; every termite is
individually seized with the talons and
then disposed of with the beak.) Ii
evening is setting in, bats and even fru-
giverous hying-foxes join in the revel;
and termites are devoured in myriads.
Turn again to the hole whence the last
termite has emerged. and you will find
the workers busily engaged in plastering
it up again and destroying all traces Of
the flight. The few survivors of the
swarm seek the earth, drop their wings
and disappear. The dropping Of the
wings is marvellous process; two pair.
with all their machinery of blood ves-
sells, nerves and ligaments. are instanta-
neously dispensed with, and the insect
seems livelier than before; and this mu-
tilation occurs precisely at the exact mo-
ment. Seize a termite by the wings
at .he wrong moment and he will strug-
gle violently to escape, the wings re-
naming firm in your grasp. Seize it at
the right moment and you will see it lift
its body upward and backward like an
earwig, deliberately unhook its wings
and SO escape.-CH ambers' Journal.