NEUROPTERA. 487 



NEUROPTERA. 



WE now come to an order of insects containing some of the most beautiful and a 

 few of the most interesting members of the class. They are known by the possession of 

 four equal-sized membranous wings divided into a great number of little cells techni- 

 cally called areolets. The mouth is furnished with transversely movable jaws, and the 

 females do not possess a sting or valved ovipositor. In this order are comprised the ant- 

 lions, the dragon-flies, the termites, the lace-wings, and the May-flies. 



THE first family in Mr. Westwood's arrangement is that of the Termites, popularly 

 but erroneously known by the name of WHITE ANTS, because they live in vast colonies, 

 and in many of their habits display a resemblance to the insect from which they take 

 their name. All the Termites are miners, and many of them erect edifices of vast 

 dimensions when compared with the size of their architects. For example, the buildings 

 erected by the common White Ant (Termes bellicosus will often reach the astonishing 

 height of sixteen or seventeen feet, which in proportion to the size of the insect would 

 be equivalent to an edifice a mile in height if built by man. The dwelling is made of 

 clay, worked in some marvellous manner by the jaws of the insect-architects ; and 

 is of such astonishing hardness, that, although hollow, and pierced by numerous galleries 

 and chambers, they will sustain the weight of cattle, which are in the habit of ascend- 

 ing these wonderful monuments of insect labor for the purpose of keeping a watch on 

 the surrounding country. A full-sized habitation of the warlike Termite resembles a 

 large irregular cone, having a diameter about equal to its height, and covered with 

 turrets and smaller cones. Nor is this all, for the subterranean excavations are every- 

 whit as marvellous as the building, consisting of galleries, chambers, and wells some 

 fourteen inches in width, and penetrating about five feet into the earth. These ex- 

 cavations serve for homes, for nurseries, and for roads of communication between the 

 several portions of the vast establishment. 



To give a complete history of the Termites would be a task demanding so much 

 time and space, that it cannot be attempted in these pages ; and we must, therefore, 

 content ourselves with a slight sketch of their general history, premising that many parts 

 of their economy, and especially those which relate to their development, are still buried 

 in mystery. 



The most recent investigations give the following results : 



Each Termite colony is founded by a fruitful pair, called the king and queen, who 

 are placed in a chamber devoted to their sole use, and from which they never stir when 

 once enclosed. These insects produce a vast quantity of eggs, from which are hatched 

 the remaining members of the colony, consisting of neuters of both sexes, the females 

 being termed workers and the males soldiers, the latter being distinguished by their 

 enormous heads and powerful jaws ; of larvae of two forms, some of which will be fully 

 developed, and others pass all their lives in the worker or soldier condition ; of found 

 of two forms ; and, lastly, of male and female perfect insects, which are destined to 

 pupaae fresh colonies. The neuters of either sex are without wings. 



In founding a colony, the order is as following : The parent pair are taken posses- 

 sion of by the workers, who enclose them in a chamber which is intended as the 

 nucleus of the infant establishment. The walls of this chamber are pierced by holes 

 which will surfer the workers too pass, but are far too small to afford exit for the king or 

 queen. Shortly after they have been fairly installed, the royal pair lose their wings, 

 and a wondrous change soon takes place in the female. Though her head, thorax, and 

 legs retain their normal dimensions, her abdomen begins to swell in the most prepos- 

 terous manner, until it is as long as a man's finger and about twice its thickness, thus 

 precluding its owner from advancing a single step. 



