380 INSECTS ABROAD. 



when they both tiiiig off their wiugs, jerkhig them forward with 

 a javelin-sort of twitching movement. Then they move off to 

 some sheltered locality ; and if they can find a spot where there 

 is some moist earth, they immediately begin to burrow in it. 



Thus is begun the new colony, and in a short time the foun- 

 dress attains the most enormous dimensions. Her head, thorax, 

 and legs remain unchanged, but the abdomen swells to such a 

 size that the creature looks very much as if the head and limbs 

 of a Termite had been attached to the end of a hen's egg. So 

 large an insect requires a dwelling of corresponding size, and 

 accordingly she is enclosed in a cell made of clay, the interior o^ 



'^ 



_5S~ 



Fia. IS4.— Tftrmes ilirus. Female. 

 (Pale brown, witli grey-white alidnmeu.) 



which is widened by degrees in order to accommodate her in- 

 creasing dimensions. It may seem somewhat of a hardship that 

 she should be thus left a prisoner, but in fact there is no hard- 

 ship at all, for her body is so enormous that her legs could not 

 move it even if she w^ere at perfect liberty. 



She, like the queen-bee, has but one business in life ; namely, 

 to lay eggs, which she does perpetually, their numbers being 

 counted not only by tens of thousands, but by millions. It is 

 evident that, as she cannot move, she is unable to do what tlie 

 queen-bee does ; namely, deposit the eggs in tlie spots where they 

 are wanted. It is also evident that she cannot go in search of 

 food, and must therefore be dependent on others. Now, the 

 Termite colony consists of various ranks, if one may so term 



