THE SOCIAL INSECTS 



by various species in the damp forests of Africa and South 

 America. 



The nests so far described are the conspicuous ones, but 

 many kinds, probably the majority, are hidden. Some, 

 especially perhaps those in drier regions, are entirely subter- 

 ranean. These may be merely a series of irregular intercon- 

 nected underground chambers or they may have a much more 

 definite structure, an enclosed, walled-in underground space 

 within which the actual chambers are constructed. Some of 

 the desert-living species make vertical tunnels many feet 

 long to reach the deep-lying water table so that they can 

 bring up water to keep the nest suitably damp. 



The two groups of termites which have been most in- 

 tensively studied (because they happen to be represented in 

 Europe and North America) make very simple nests in 

 decayed wood. Irregular branching tunnels are excavated, 

 sometimes widening into chambers ; but there is no special 

 provision for the royal couple or the brood : these merely 

 occupy the more central part of the colony. 



THE NUPTIALS 



Just as in ants, new colonies of termites normally arise 

 from flights of winged sexual forms. Commonly, these 

 forms are produced only during a short season when they 

 may appear in millions. In parts of Africa, when camping in 

 the bush, it may be difficult to eat one's supper by lamp- 

 light because of the immense numbers of winged termites 

 which are attracted to the light and fall into the food. Other 

 species, however, fly by day. 



Some time before the marriage flight the workers construct 

 special passages to the outside, each wide enough to allow 

 several winged adults to leave simultaneously. One species 

 is known to construct special waiting-rooms for the winged 



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