The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-26
BY J. Il. p

Who has not heard of the dreadful
White ants Of the tropics ?-those that
eat the wood and leave the house and
furniture standing as mere shells? But
you didn't know, did you, that we
nave them in Utah? Their real name
Is termites; but they are called white
. ants The fact is, however, that they
: are not white, and they are not ants.
Yet they resemble the ants in so many
! ways, and the name white ant has
become so closely associated with
them, that it probably will remain I'M
changed The termites belong 10 the
nerve~winged class of insects called
the Neuroptera, the order to which the
dragon flies belong. Look for a mo-
ment at the wing of the dragon fly.
IL Is beautifully and finely Melted;
, whereas, those of the true ant land of
the bees and wasps also) ave parallel
IN their venation. White ants are not
much like dragon flies, however but
their net-veined wings are similar and
they belong to the same group.
They Resemble Ants.
Termites, like the true ants, are so.
cial in their ways; and, like the latter,
they possess mouth parts fitted for Bit
ing. Unlike the ants, they do not I'M
dergo 6. complete metamorphosis, their
young being similar TO the adults, only
smaller. Their bodies are nos slender
WASTED; that is, they have not pc
dicel' joining the abdomen and thorax,
as the ants have. Like the ants, their
mature males and fema.es, or kings
and queens, are the only ones that
have wings. On the bodies of the ter
mites, unlike the ants in this respect,
the hard plates, or sclerites, are not
highly developed, the body of the ter
mite remaining rather soft. Like the
ants, the worker termites are frequent
. ly blind, the eyes being absent; wnen
present, there are but TWO compound
and two simple eyes. The antennae Of
the termites have no elbow, those of
ants have prominent elbows. The last
joint of the antenna is longest in ter
mites; the first joint, or segment long
est in ants.
Some Peculiar Organs.
Termites possess certain peculiar or
gans; two little spikes, or jointed
styiets, project from the end of the
abdomen. Ants have no such organs;
but the queens, as we have already
learned, may have a concealed sting.
! Other relatives may have a sting.
or piercer, or even a saw. The legs
of the termite are short and slender:
/. those Of the ant, long and strong. The
end of the leg (tIle tarsus) is four
] Jolnted in termites, the last segment
being the longest; the tarsus of the
3 ant is five Jointed, and the first seq
ment is the longest. Whether or net
true ants can hear, is uncertain; nut it
is now well established that the white
ants at least make sounds. They have
ears which are situated at the base
of the tibia, on the front leg. The
cricket has ears near the other eX-
tremity of this segment In fact this
group is nearer 10 the crickets than
10 the ants. The sound is probably
produced by jerking the head back
wards causing a friction between the
back of the head and the pronOJum, or
! dorsal shield, over the first division of
the thOraX- The wings have a suture.
at which the kings and queens break
them off after their wedding flight:
( but they never chew them OFF, as the
! true ants do. They break them by
pushing against some obstruction.
I They have the curious function of
emitting or producing very corrosive
, material or acid, which acts upon the
Z metals or even upon glass. The ex-
Z act nature of this substance is not
. known; but by means of it they mar
/ age to work their way through very
hard substances.