ig6 THE NEUROPTERA 



carnivorous. A community of Termites consists of a large number 

 of workers, a limited number of big-headed and powerful-jawed 

 soldiers, a fertile queen, and a king, or fully developed male. The 

 apparent similarity of the community to that of the true ants is 

 only superficial, for while the various types of workers in the 

 true ant community are practically all neuters, or imperfectly 

 developed females, in the Termites they are males and females 

 who remain sexually immature throughout their lives. Professor 

 Fritz Miiller has also proved that in many instances a Termite 

 community may contain, in addition to the workers and fully 

 developed males and females, who are the true future kings and 

 queens, a certain number of wingless males and females. These 

 are apparently kept in reserve by the community, and, in the event 

 of anything happening to the rightful king and queen, are allowed 

 to mate and become parents. The winged males and females are 

 produced in great numbers at certain seasons of the year, and on 

 completing their growth quit the nest and swarm into the air. 

 Although the male Termites may commence the courtship of the 

 queens during the brief flight, the actual mating does not appear 

 to take place until the amorous couple have taken up their abode 

 in some hospitable nest, and have been formally accepted as king 

 and queen by the community. Then, having lost their wings, or 

 had them pulled off by the workers, the royal couple are estab- 

 lished in a special chamber in the centre of the nest, wherein they 

 pass the rest of their lives, tended carefully by the workers. The 

 Termites always work under cover, constructing covered ways to 

 screen themselves from observation and attack, for their soft, 

 plump bodies are much appreciated by insect-eating birds, lizards, 

 and carnivorous beetles and true ants. Their food consists chiefly 

 of wood, especially wood that has begun to decay, and in the 

 tropical forests they attack every fallen branch and trunk, and 

 ascend to the topmost branches of the living trees by forming 

 covered ways of earth. Unfortunately, they do not confine their 

 attentions to the forest, but will burrow upwards through the 

 timbers of the houses, the first warning of their presence being 

 the sudden collapse of some supporting beam, which may bring 

 the rest of the timbers tumbling down, mere hollow shells, ex- 

 cavated by these persistent workers. 



The graceful May-flies, so dear to the heart of the enthusiastic 



