THE VICTOEIAN WHITE ANT. 



139 



natural seam running across the root of the wing and 

 dividing the nervures) and pair, and then become the 

 kings and queens of future colonies. 



The workers and soldiers are distinct from the moment 

 of their emergence from the egg^ and they do not acquire 

 their special characteristics in consequence of any differ- 

 ent food or treatment. Both are wingless, and they 

 differ solely in the formation of the head. Fig. 10 shows 

 a head magnified of the "soldier form" of our White Ant. 

 The duties of the workers are to build, make covered 

 roads, nurse the young brood from the egg upwards, take 

 care of the king and queen (who are the progenitors of 

 the whole colony), and secure the exit of the males and 

 females when they acquire wings and fly out to pair and 

 disseminate the race. The duties of the soldiers are to 

 defend the community from all attacks which may be 

 made upon its peace, for which purpose the mandibles 

 (jaws) are greatly developed. 



It is most remarkable that both the workers and 

 soldiers amongst these strange insects are mostly without 

 eyes, and, as Mr. Woods remarks, are "blind soldiers 

 directing the blind workers by some system of signalling 

 which we cannot understand." 



In proportion to the workers the soldiers are very few 

 in numbers, scarcely more than 1 per cent. 



Like the queen bee the female White Ant has but the 

 one business in life, namely, to lay eggs, which she does 

 l^erpetually, their numbers being counted not by tens of 

 thousands but by millions. 



I have thus given you the results of some of the 

 observations made by celebrated naturalists as to the 

 habits of these wonderfid little creatures. 



There are many other matters connected with their 

 economy, but our space will not permit of much more 

 information in this direction. To those of us who, in the 

 summer time, have travelled in the country districts, 

 especially in the warmer and drier portions of the colony 

 the sight on a sultry summer's evening of myriads of 

 these little flimsy-winged insects flying in dense clouds, 



