THE AARD VARK OR EARTH HOG 



forage, fencing posts, etc. If a farmer is foolish 

 enough to leave a wooden implement in contact 

 with the ground in a district inhabited by these 

 pests, he will probably find that in a single night 

 it has been demolished or damaged beyond repair. 



The writer in Natal suffered thousands of pounds 

 damage by the depredations of these White Ants. 

 They demolished the woodwork of many houses, 

 ruined furniture, and devoured the roots of hundreds 

 of fruit and other trees, causing them to die or 

 blow over with the wind. The cash value of damage 

 done by termites in South Africa probably amounts 

 to over a million sterling per annum. 



The destructive species of White Ants do not 

 usually build hills of any size. Often there is little 

 or no external evidence of their existence, and it is 

 only when digging or ploughing that the nest is 

 noticed. 



The Aard Vark's sense of smell is acute, and it, in 

 consequence, has no difficulty in locating these 

 underground termites' nests and, laying them bare, 

 devours most of the occupants, including the queen, 

 which is a dainty morsel of fat, the size of a human 

 thumb. 



There are other species of termites which build 

 roundish hills or mounds, and which are commonly 

 known as Ant Hills or Ant Heaps. These are 

 scattered in countless numbers over the hill-sides and 

 veld of South Africa. Although these hill-building 

 species of termites are not a serious pest to man, 

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