The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-07-19
WHITE ANTS OF AFRICA.
4 Poor Creature, Blind and unsrmed-
The Fighting rieD-Duccn.


Tho white ant H. blind, il has many enc
mics and can never procure food until II
colnes above ground How f0ca II solve
The difficulty! II takes the ground out
along with it, haze seen white ants
working on the top of q high tree aud yet
it wa underground They took up some
Of the ground with thnm 20 the tree top;
lust az the EsQumaux heap snow mp,
bulldog il into the low tunnel huts in
which they live, so the white ants collect
-arh. only in this case not from the sur
face. bat from some depth underneath the
nOund, and plasterit into tunneled ways
OCCASIONALLY these run along the ground,
tut more often mount in endlCs5 iInllncS-
lion 10 the tops OF trees, mcahieiIne
along every branch and twig. aud hero and
there debOuching into large covered cham
bcrs which occupy half the girth of the
trunk. Millions of trees ia some districts
arc thus fantastically pi1stoTed over wan
tubes. galleries, aud chambers Of earth,
and many pounds weight of subsoii must
be brought up for the mining OF even e
single tree.
Pcerng over the growing wall one soon
discovers one, two or more termhes Oh
a somewhat larger build, considerably
longer, and especially Of the mandiDies
These important looking individuals saun
ter about the rampant in the most Ieis-
urely way but vet with certain AIR OF
business, as if perhaps one was the master
Of works and the other the arcpiect.
They are posted there a. sentnes, ana
there they stand, on promenade about, al
the mouth Of every tunnel ike siS'ci
Ann, h SEQ II anybody IS coming. some
times somebody does como IN the shape
OF another ant-thc real ant tins time,
not the dofcnselcss ncurOptcron, tut some
valiant and belted knight from he war
like fonnicidp Single or in troops this
ranacious little insect. fearless III It's chit
Onou5 coat Of mail, charges down the Tree
trunk, il antenue waving defiance TO The
enemy and its cruel mandibles thirsting
for tcrmi,c blood.
The worker white ant is a poor. de-
fensole.s creature, and, blind ana I'M
armed would iall an immediate prey 10
these well drilled banditti, who forage
about in every tropical forest in unnum-
borcd legion Dut at the critical moment,
like Goliath from the Philistines, the
soldier termitc advances 10 the fight.
With a Jew sweeps Of its scytheliilc jaws
it clears the ground and while the attack
ing party IS carrying OFF its dead the
builders. unconscious of the fray, quietly
continue their work TO every hundred
vorkers in a white ant colony, which
number many thousands of individuals,
there are perhaps two Of these lighting
men The division Of labor here Is very
wonderful and the fact that besides
these two specialized forms there are IL
every nest two other kinds Of the same
insect. the kings and queens, shows the
remarkable height to which civilization IL
these communities has attained.
These mounds are built into mesh
work Of tunnels. galleries and chambers
where the social interests Of the com
munity are atteuded TO. The most
spacious vi these chambers usually far
underground, is very properly aliocated
10 the head Of ;he society, the queen
The queen termite is very rare insect,
and as there are seldom more tBan one, or
nj most two TO a colony, and az the royal
apartments are hidden far in the earth,
few persons have ever seen queen ana
indeed most. ii they did happen 20 come
across II from its very singular appear
ance would refuse TO believe that Il had
anv connection with white ants. Her one
duty in life is to lag eggs and 1t must be
confessed she discharges her function
with complete success, for III single day
hcI progeny often amounts 70 many thou
sands.-pdll Mall Gazette.