TERMITES, THE DESTROYERS 



83 



burrowing of the earthworms does; and their 

 very habit of wood eating, which is so destructive 

 in the wrong place, is often useful in the jungle, 

 where it turns dead wood quickly back to fertile 

 soil which supplies food for other plants. 









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Photograph by SSetek 



Fig. 38. Cross-section of termite mound nest 



Thirty-six kinds of termites are known to live 

 in Panama, and new varieties are still being dis- 

 covered. Not all of these make the tree nest 

 I have told about. Some live only in the ground. 

 Others have nests in the wood on which they 

 feed. And still others build tentlike mounds 



