282 MANUAL OF ZOOLOGY. 



" Termitaria," consisting of mounds or hillocks, some of which 

 are " five feet high, and are formed of particles of earth worked 

 into a material as hard as stone." The Termitarium has no 

 external aperture for ingress or egress, as far as can be seen, 

 the entrance being placed at some distance, and connected 

 with the central building by means of covered ways and 

 galleries. Each Termitarium is composed of "a vast num- 

 ber of chambers and irregular intercommunicating galleries, 

 built up with particles of earth or vegetable matter, cemented 

 together with the saliva of the insects." Many of " the very 

 large hillocks are the work of many distinct species, each of 

 which uses materials differently compacted, and keeps to its 

 own portion of the tumulus." 



Fig. 112. Termites ( Tertnes bellicosus] ; a King, before the wings are cast off ; b Queen, 

 with the abdomen distended with eggs ; c Worker ; d Soldier. 



A family of Termites consists of a king and queen, of the 

 workers, and of the soldiers. The royal couple are the parents 

 of the colony, and " are always kept together, closely guarded 

 by a detachment of workers, in a large chamber in the very 

 heart of the hive, surrounded by much stronger walls than the 

 other cells. They are both wingless, and immensely larger 

 than the workers and soldiers. The queen, when in her 

 chamber, is always found in a gravid condition, her abdomen 

 enormously distended with eggs, which, as fast as they come 

 forth, are conveyed by a relay of workers in their mouths 

 from the royal chamber to the minor cells dispersed through 

 the hive." 



At the beginning of the rainy season a number of winged 

 males and females are produced, which, when they arrive at 

 maturity, leave the hive, and fly abroad. They then shed their 



