THE WHITE ANTS, BOOK-LICE, AND BIRD-LICE 105 



buildings, whose wooden foundations are then attacked and often 

 so mined as to necessitate their removal. Such instances are more 

 common in the South, but even in the North porch timbers are 

 often attacked, and now and then the white ants invade a buildino- 



o 



and thoroughly tunnel the studding and even 

 the lathing. The workers of both sexes are 

 wingless, of a dirty white color, and busy 

 themselves in building their nests, caring for 

 the young termites, and securing food for 

 the whole colony. The soldiers are also of 



FIG. 136. A psocid (side b th SeXCS > wm g less , and resemble the work- 

 view), showing position of ers, except that the heads are of immense 

 wings at rest. (Thirteen s j ze> being frequently as large as the rest of 



times natural size) 



the body, and bear very strong mandibles, 

 which form effective weapons. The kings 



and queens are really merely fathers and mothers, for they produce 



the colony but do not rule it. In early summer the kings (males) 



and queens (females) swarm forth from the nest and, after a short 



flight, shed their wings. Individual males 



and females now mate and are ready to start 



a new colony, but unless they are found and 



established by some workers they perish, and 



thus only few of them ever survive. If a 



pair are fortunate enough to be discovered 



by some workers, they are provided with 



food and are imprisoned in a circular cell. 



The queen now commences to develop eggs, 



and her body enlarges enormously, finally 



becoming nothing but a huge sack, often 



six inches long, filled with eggs. She is fed FIG. 137. A wingless book- 

 by the workers, who carry away the eggs and eat y 



rear the young, which resemble the adults in 



' . (After Kellogg) 



general form. Thus the domestic economy 



of these colonies is hardly less interesting than that of the true ants. 

 Book-lice. In neglected libraries or in old books which have been 

 stored are to be found the tiny book-lice (Psocidae] which feed upon 

 the paper bindings. They are exceedingly wise-looking little insects 

 when examined with a lens, having all the appearance of being 



