INSECT COMMUNITIES 301 



naturalist Moller to investigate the matter so thoroughly 

 as to leave no room for doubt. His discoveries have been 

 briefly summarised by Dr. Sharp as follows : " This fungus 

 (Rozites go?igylophora) the ants cultivate in the most 

 skilful manner : they manage to keep it clear from 

 mouldiness and bacterial agents, and to make it produce 

 a modified form of growth in the shape of little white 

 masses, each one formed by an agglomeration of swell- 

 ings of the mycelium. These form the chief food of the 

 colony. Moller ascertained by experiment that the results 

 were due to a true cultivation on the part of the ants : 

 when they were taken away from the nests, the mycelium 

 produced two kinds of conidia instead of the ant-food." 

 It has been discovered recently that the young queen leaf- 

 cutting ants, when they leave the nest for the nuptial 

 flight, carry in the mouth small quantities of the Rozit-es 

 fungus, doubtless for the purpose of starting fresh cultures 

 when new nests are formed. 



The popular term " white ants," as applied to termites, 

 is a regrettable misnomer — no two divisions of insects being 

 more distinct than the true ants and the so-called white 

 ants. The former are insect aristocrats ; the latter are not 

 very far removed from the most primitive types. Thus, 

 the fact that the two groups should display much the 

 same kind of social organisation is very remarkable. We 

 have seen that the social life of ants, bees, and wasps 

 hinges upon the helplessness of the young — each com- 

 munity being a huge co-operative nursing establishment ; 

 but the case of the termite appears not to admit of a like 

 explanation. The young emerge from the eggs as active, 

 six-legged creatures which call for no specialised fostering. 

 They certainly receive food from the older members of 

 their community, and are carefully groomed by them 

 when occasion demands ; but these attentions seem to 



