SOME INSECT COMMUNITIES 59 



unable to move, and spends the rest of her life 

 consuming the bountiful supply of food furnished 

 by the crowd of ever attentive workers who 

 wait upon her, and in producing a vast number 

 of eggs, of which she is said to be capable, at 

 times, of laying 80,000 a day. As fast as the 

 eggs are laid, they are carried away from the 

 royal chamber by the attendant workers, and 

 placed in special nurseries in the nest. 



The duty of the soldier workers is to attack 

 all foes that may attempt to approach the 

 covered ways leading to the nest. They are 

 very formidable in appearance, with their big, 

 oblong heads, and long, wicked-looking man- 

 dibles, and they are always ready to do battle, 

 fighting with great courage and determination. 

 The true workers, who look after the eggs and 

 young, gather in the food supplies, build the 

 nest and covered ways, and wait upon the king 

 and queen, have small rounded heads and normal 

 mandibles. In both the Soldier and Worker 

 Termites the eyes are wanting, only the fully 

 developed males and females the kings and 

 queens being able to see. 



The Termites always work under cover, con- 

 structing covered ways to screen themselves 

 from observation and attack, for their soft, plump 

 bodies are much appreciated by many insect-eat- 

 ing birds, lizards, true Ants, etc. Their food con- 

 sists chiefly of wood, and especially of wood that 

 has begun to decay. In the forests they attack 

 every fallen branch and log, and, in search of decay- 

 ing timber, ascend to the topmost branches of the 

 trees by forming tunnels and covered ways of 



