226 A NATURALIST IN HIMALAYA 



is pitted against life. The termites, or white ants, 

 were not very common at the altitude of this valley, 

 but they were sufficient to indicate how great is the 

 destruction of certain species at some special moment 

 of their lives. At the time of the emergence of the 

 sexual forms of the termites another drama is opened 

 to our view. 



A seething mass of insect life swarms about the 

 aperture of the nest. The workers have broken 

 through the galleries ; they have excavated apertures 

 in the sides of their tunnels through which the winged 

 forms can easily emerge. Out they come in a dense 

 throng. They squeeze themselves through the newly 

 opened doors ; others follow in thousands ; a few push 

 their way back into the tunnels, but the main body, 

 after crawling for a few minutes about the opening, 

 scramble up the stems of the bushes or the blades 

 of grass and then take wing into the air. The 

 soldiers and the ordinary workers remain busy about 

 the apertures. They are filled with activity and 

 energy. They seem to realize the importance of the 

 event. The soldiers resent the slightest intrusion or 

 interference. They are ferocious to a degree. If 

 touched, they make an immediate attack. They drive 

 their sharp curved fangs into the skin and exude a 

 milky irritating juice. 



Let us follow the winged forms into the air. Their 

 journey is a short one. The sharp eye of an insec- 

 tivorous bird soon detects them and they are instantly 

 devoured. Other termites rapidly follow, but their 

 enemies have found them out. Birds great and small 

 come flocking to the scene ; little chats and bulbuls 

 vie with hawks and pariah kites in the work of 



