THE TERMES LUCIFUGUM. 349 
others—and these are the most numerous—do not appear to 
possess either remarkable talents or instincts, but they are inte- 
resting, in consequence of their leading such very different lives 
in the larva and adult stages. One of the most interesting families 
—not only of this order but of the whole class of insects—is that of 
the White Ant, the Zermitide. These insects are gregarious, and 
form numerous societies, in which may be found males and females, 
several kinds of neuters, and active larvae and nymphs. They 
build very large dwellings, containing multitudes of chambers and 
galleries, and they always work in the dark. If they wish to 
move from one locality to another, they can construct first-rate 
tunnels; and their habits, especially those of construction, have 
caused them to be compared with the true ants; and they are 
well known in all tropical climates, where they commit frightful 
damage, as white ants. The males and females of Zermes luct- 
fugum have large wings, the cross or transverse nervures of which 
can hardly be seen, and they are rudimentary; their heads are 
large and strong, and there are three ocelli placed between the 
larger pair of eyes. The neuters, which never have wings, are 
of two kinds—first, the workers, with a round head and short 
mandibles, and second, the soldiers, with long heads and large 
and strong jaws. 
M. Lespeés has discovered that there exist in the dwellings of 
Termes lucifugum in France, besides the larve of the neuters and 
of the males and females, and besides the neuters, workmen, and 
soldiers, two sorts of nymphs, some very small, with rudiments of 
very short wings, and others larger, with longer wings ; and even— 
and this is a very inexplicable fact—two kinds of males and females, 
one small, and appearing in May, and the other, much larger, not 
being observable till the month of August. M. Lespés calls the 
first little kings and little queens ; and the second, the great kings 
and great queens. When the eggs are about to be laid, ordinarily 
a single couple is found in the interior of the nest, and the in- 
dividuals composing it have lost their wings, and indeed they 
always appear to fall off at this time. The bodies of the great 
females are often distended with eggs. 
It is of course in hot climates that the Zermiées attain their 
greatest size and numbers. It is stated that a third of the flat 
