ORTHOPTERA. 



*73 



couple are named — are lodged in a large cell near the middle of the nest, and may 

 be recognised by their large size, and the fact that they retain but small stumps of 

 the wings which they once possessed. The royal cell is larger than the others, and 

 has thicker walls ; while the passages leading into it are too small to afford the 

 occupants a means of escape, though large enough to admit the workers, which 

 come and go, some to bring food to the royal pair, others to carry away the eggs 

 laid by the queen. At this time the abdomen of the queen, owing to the number 

 of eggs it contains, is swollen to an enormous size. "She lies there," writes 

 Drummond, in reference to one of the African species, "a large, loathsome, 



WHITE ANTS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT. 



1, Male of Termes dirus ; 2, The same, seen from the side ; 3, The head, enlarged ; 4, Worker ; 5, The same, front 

 view ; 6, 7, Soldier, side and front view ; 8, Worker (much enlarged ); 9, Nymph ; 10, Queen. 



cylindrical package, 2 or 3 inches long, in shape like a sausage, and as white as a 

 bolster." Her eggs are discharged at a rapid rate, amounting in a single day to 

 several thousands, and the process is continued with the same activity for months 

 in succession. Both workers and soldiers are wingless members of the community, 

 and, in the majority of species, have no eyes. The workers have small and 

 rounded heads, with short mandibles, and well-developed maxillse and palpi; 

 whereas the soldiers are easily recognised by their big, square, or oblong heads, 

 and long mandibles. The workers are the most numerous class, and have many 

 duties to perform in the way of building, tunnelling, and providing food for the 

 young larvae and for the king and queen. The soldiers look after the protection 

 of the workers, and act generally in defence of the community. In one genus 



