Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-09-13
The White Ants Of Africa.

The white ant Is blind; it has many
enemies, and can never procure food
until it comes above ground. How
does 1t solve the diflicultyP 1t takes
the ground out along with it. have
seen white ants working on the top of
a high tree, and yet it was under
ground. They took up some of the
ground with them to the tree-top; just
as the Esquimaux heap snow up. build
ing it into the low tunnel huts in which
they live. so the white ants collect
earth. but for some depths underneath
the ground, and plaster it into tunnel
led ways Occasionally these run
along the ground, but more often
mount in endless ramilication to tho
tops of trees. meandering along every
branch and twig. here and there de-
bouching into large covered chambers
which occupy half the girth of tho
trunk. Millions of trees in some dis
tricts are thus Enthusiastically plastered
over with tubes, galleries. and cham
bers of earth. and many pounds
weight of subsoil must be brought up
for the mining of even single tree.
Peerng over the growing wall one
soon discovers one. two, or more ter'
mites of a somewhat larger build. con-
sIderably longer. and especially of the
mandbles. These important-looking
individuals sdunter about the rampant
in the most leisurely way. but yet with
certain air of business. as il. per-
haps. one was the master Of works
and the other the architect. They are
posted there as sentries, and there they
stand. or promenade about, at the
mouth of every tunnel, like Sister Ann.
TO see if anybody IS coming. Some
times somebody does come in the
shape of another ant-the real ant this
time, not the defenceless neuropteron.
but some valiant and belted knight
from the warlike formicide. Single, or
in troops, this rapacious little insect
fearless in its chitonous coat of mail,
charges down the tree trunk. its
antennH waving defiance to the enemy
and Is cruel inand bles thirsting for
termite blood.
The worker white ant Is poor. de-
fenceless creature. aud blind and I'M
armed. would fall an immediate prey
TO these well-drilled banditti who for
age about in every tropical forest in
numbered legion. But ut the critical
moment, like Goliath from the Philst-
ines, the soldier termite advances to
the fight. With a few sweeps of its
scythe-like jaw it clears the ground, and
while the attacking party is carrying
off its dead. the builders, unconscious of
the fray. on eily continue their work.
To every 100 workers in II white ant
colony. which numbers many thous-
ands of individuals. there are perhaps
two of these fighting men. The divI-
sion here isvery wonderful. and the fact
that bes DIES these two specialized forms
there are in every nest two other kind
of the same insect the kings and
queens, shows the remarkable height
TO which civilization in these commun-
tiles has attained:
These mounds are built into a mesh
work of tunnels. galleries and cham
bers. where the social interests OF the
community are attended to. The most
spacious of these chambers, usually
far underground. is very properly allo-
Gated to The head of the society, the
queen. The queen termte is very
rare insect, and as there are seldom
more than one or at most two, 10
colony. and as the royal apartments are
hidden far in the earth, few persons
have ever seen queen, and indeed
most if they did happen TO come across
it, from its singular appearance, would
refuse to believe that it had any con-
nection with the white ants, Her one
duty in life is to lay eggs, and it must
be confessed she discharges her func-
ton with complete success, for in a
single day her progeny often amounts
to many thousands. = Pail Mall Gazette.