LIFE IN THE INSECT WORLD. 45 



Here are regular rows of columns and arches ; 

 the royal chamber, with the rooms of the atten- 

 dants around it ; the store-rooms which are al- 

 ways well stocked with provisions ; the nurse- 

 ries, for the accommodation of the young, and 

 many other rooms used for various purposes. 



Renee. What kind of provision have they 

 in the store-rooms, Aunt Mary ? Flies and so 

 on? 



Jlunt M. No. Although the Termites will 

 eat almost any thing, they prefer vegetable food, 

 and that which they store away has been found 

 to consist principally of the gum of trees. 



It is singular, that, while all the rest of the 

 dwelling is of earth, the room used as a nursery 

 is made of pieces of wood fastened together, and 

 nicely lined with clay. To and from this nur- 

 sery some of the faithful workers, are almost 

 continually travelling ; first carrying the eggs of 

 the queen, (which, you may suppose, requires 

 no small labor, when I tell you that eighty 

 thousand have sometimes been laid in twenty- 

 four hours,) and afterward feeding the young, 

 who, as soon as they are old enough to leave 



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