. The popular natural history . Zoology. 538 TEKMITA^. To give a complete history of the Termites would be a task demanding so much time and space, that it cannot be attempted in these pages ; and we must therefore content ourselves with a slight sketch of their general history, premising that many parts of their economy, and especially those which relate to their development, are still buried in mystery. The most recent investigations give the following results :— Each Termite colony is fo mded by a fruitful pair, called the king and queen, who are placed in a chamber devoted to their sole us
. The popular natural history . Zoology. 538 TEKMITA^. To give a complete history of the Termites would be a task demanding so much time and space, that it cannot be attempted in these pages ; and we must therefore content ourselves with a slight sketch of their general history, premising that many parts of their economy, and especially those which relate to their development, are still buried in mystery. The most recent investigations give the following results :— Each Termite colony is fo mded by a fruitful pair, called the king and queen, who are placed in a chamber devoted to their sole use, and from which they never stir when once inclosed. These insects produce a vast quantity of eggs, from which are hatched the remaining me:nbers of the colony, consistmg of neuters of botn s^xes, the females being termed workers and the m^.les scldiers, the iatter being distinguished by their enor- mous heads and jaws; of larvas of two forms, some of which will be fully developed, ana others pass all their lives in the worker or soldier 'ftV »i. A ^•^.. WHITE ANT.—(Tcrmesbellicosus.) Soldier—Worker—Female. condition ; of pupas of two forms ; and, lastly, of male and female perfect insects, which are destined to found fresh colonies. The neuters of either sex are without wings. In founding a colony, the order is as follows. The parent pair are taken possession of by the workers, who inclose them in a chamber which is intended as the nucleus of the infant establishment. The walls of this chamber are pierced by holes which will suffer the workers lo pass, but are far too small to afford exit for the king or queen. Shortly after they have been fairly installed, a wondrous change takes place in the female. Though her head, thorax, and legs retain their normal dimensions, her abdomen begins to swell in the most prf posterous manner, until it is as long as a man's finger and about twice its thickness, thus precluding its owner from advancing a single step. The q
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
