GENEUATION OF INSECTS. 429 



dibles elongated, shai'p-edged and pointed, and crossing each other 

 like the blades of a pair ot* curved scissors : these live near the outer 

 border, and guard the entries to the nest, and their eyes are well 

 developed : they are less numerous than the purblind workers, and, 

 their duty being to defend the fortress, they ai'e called " soldiers." 

 A third kind of individuals are those in progress of transformation ; 

 they show rudiments of wings, and are called " demi-nymphs." All 

 these Termites are associated in colonies of incalculable numbers, 

 and live concealed beneath the surface of the earth, in trees, and 

 other wooden matters, such as the rafters, beams, furniture, shelves, 

 &c. of houses, in which they form galleries, with routes conducting 

 to the centre of their nest : so that these objects, of which the outer 

 surface is, with curious instinct, left uninjured, fall to pieces on the 

 slightest touch. The nests of the African Termes bellicosus are some- 

 times elevated to such a height above the surface, as to appear, at a 

 distance, like a small village or kraal of the natives. 



When arrived at the perfect state the male (Prep. No. 3145, A) 

 and female Termites quit their habitation, fly abroad during the 

 night, in great numbers, and perform the nuptial rites : they lose 

 their wings before morning, and, falling to the earth, become the prey 

 of insectivorous lizards, birds, and mammals. Such impregnated 

 females as escape this fate, are carried off by the larv£e, and the 

 foundation of a new nest and colony is laid by building around the 

 rescued queen a royal chamber : here she acquires an enormous size 

 through the expansion of the abdomen by the myriads of ova there 

 developed (Preps. Nos. 3146 — 3iol). Around the royal chamber 

 are successively built the cells for the eggs and for the stores of 

 provision. Thus one species of insect may be represented by six 

 forms of individuals — the perfect winged female, the same impreg- 

 nated and apterous, the perfect male, the demi-nymph, the soldier, 

 and the worker. 



The true ants {Formicidce) of the Hymenopterous order have a 

 similar economy, with many interesting modifications ; but, perhaps 

 the most singular peculiarity is presented by the species, thence 

 called " Amazon ants," whose nest and society include individuals 

 of distinct species. The neuters of the Formica amazonica seize 

 by violence those of the Formica ficsca ; they march in close 

 column to the nests of that black species and carry off the larvae 

 and pupa2 to their own nest, where they are tended by other neuter 

 slave ants of the same species which have been previously stolen ; 

 and these, with the slaves they rear, take charge of the young of the 

 amazon conquerors.* 



* Latreille, XII. torn, v, p. 310. 



