Evening star., 1944-01-06
This and That
Bu Charles E. Truce,DeU

If you ask the average person what
termite is, he will say white ant" and
he will be wrong, for the termite is dis
family related to the cockroaches.
The termite is not related to the ants,
and is often not very white.
He belongs to one of the most ancient
insect families, one which has evolved
a complex type of living, no matter
what its habits do to mankind's dwell
ings
These amazing and costly insects even
keep pets!
That's a fact, as strange as it may
sound. They keep a certain sort of
small beetle, which they feed and actu-
ally pet"
In doing so, they ruin the beetles
health. AS result, it becomes fat and
diseased, and finally exudes a fragrance
1t is this fragrance which the ter
mites like.
Termites live in nests, or termitaries
These consist of galleries and tunnels
in wood
And that, as we all know, is where the
trouble comes in for mankind
Termite colonies range from a few
thousand individuals to several mil
lions.
They have kings and queens, and
workers and soldiers.
Some colonies have true castles, with
various divisions in them.
\ II
White ants and true ants, 1t may be
realized, show a remarkable parallelism,
as the scientists say
The white ants" are the more primi-
tive, of a much more remote origin
They are also much less aggressive,
fact which householders who have la
bored and spent their money to get rid
of them will find difficult to believe.
True ants belong to the wasp and bee
order of Hymenoptera, while the white
ants" have been placed in special
scientific order all their own, Isoptera.
Most ants have poisonous stings,
whereas only the soldier termites pos
sess them.
True ants 60 through a complete life
cycle of grup, pupa and adult, but the
white ants do not. Workers in the true
ant ranks are arrested females, but both
workers and soldiers of the termites are
arrested individuals of both sexes.
1t is believed that termites make
sounds by rubbing one part of the body
against another
They also secrete a corrosive fluid,
the use of which has not been deter
mined.
There seems to be a terrible parallel
between the termite colonies and the
National Socialism of the Nazi party
in Germany
All nations, perhaps, should take a
warning from these insects, with their
relative small brains and yet their very
developed social status.
A typical colony has at the head a
completely developed male and female,
the. king and queen.
Next come what are called compile
mental males and females, which do
not fully develop.
Still more arrested forms are still
fertile.
Next in this odd state come the nor
mally sterile workers and after them
the sterile soldiers.
There are two sizes of workers and
three forms of soldiers.
Pet beetles of the termites suffer from
disease called physogastry.
That word represents what happens
to a pet" 1t is too fat, its wings fall
off and it becomes blind, all so that its
owner, the termite, may enjoy the
fragrance given off by its diseased
condition.
The air is bad in the tunnels in which
the pet beetles are kept, there is lack
of oxygen and often the air is humid.
They get little exercise and too much
carbohydrate food
Research workers claim to find here
a parallel with bad housing conditions
among human beings.
If you do not want to be like physo-
gastric beetle, see that you get plenty
OF fresh air and sunshine and plenty
! Of exercise. And do not eat too much
| carbohydrate food.