Natural History 521 



ants, and near the door the edges thickened and met overhead 

 to form a tunnel through which every returning worker had to 

 pass with her booty. 



Returning soldiers dropped their load of plunder near the 

 entrance to be dealt with by the workers. They were then 

 immediately surrounded by a group of workers, who put them 

 through a very thorough scraping and cleaning, and they not 

 only submitted with a good grace, but turned over on their backs 

 to facilitate the process. 



Spraying with formol disorganised the colony, which broke 

 up in long festoons, and moved away, carrying eggs and larva?. 

 Next morning it was found that about a third of the ants had 

 remained on the floor in charge of larvae at the critical stage of 

 passing into the pupal stage. The workers were very busy 

 gnawing wood to dust, and rags to shreds, to provide the light 

 covering which seemed necessary before the larva? would begin 

 to spin. The following morning the whole horde had disap- 

 peared. 



Termites or "White Ants" are not related to the true Ants, 

 but their achievements are equally wonderful. They are abun- 

 dant in many warm countries, notably tropical Africa. They 

 live together in great communities, sharing a many-chambered 

 earthen nest. The hills or termitaries, which they build are often 

 twice a man's height and strong enough to stand upon. In South 

 Africa telegraph posts have to be made of iron to resist their 

 jaws. There is striking division of labour, as with the Black 

 Termite so abundant in Ceylon. When on the march the Black 

 Termites move in great armies, sometimes comprising 300,000 

 individuals. It has been computed that there are 200 "soldiers" 

 to every 1,000 workers, the number of soldiers guarding a march 

 varying with the danger. The long troop of workers marches 

 between two lines of soldiers. Their tactics are nothing short 

 of extraordinary: there are guides and scouts searching out new 

 lines for foraging. "Very carefully, step by step just like cats. 



VOL. 11 IS 



