200 INSECTA. 
furniture of all kinds, and the planks, timbers, &c. &c. which 
form parts of houses. There they excavate galleries, which form so 
many roads, all leading to the centre of their domicil, and these bodies 
thus mined, and retaining nothing but a superficial bark or covering, 
soon crumble into dust (a). If compelled by any insurmountable ob- 
stacle to leave their dwellings, they construct tubes or ways which 
still keep them from sight. The nests or domicils of several species 
are exterior. but have no visible opening. Sometimes they are raised 
above the surface of the ground, in the form of pyramids or turrets, 
occasionally surmounted with a capital or very solid roof, which by their 
height and number, resemble a little village. Sometimes they form 
a large globular mass on the branches of trees. Another sort of indi- 
viduals, the neuters, also called soldiers, and which Fabricius erro- 
neously considers as nymphs, defend the domicil. They are distin- 
guished by their stouter and more elongated head, the mandibles of 
which are also longer, narrower, and considerably crossed. They are 
much less numerous than the others, and remain near the surface of 
the habitation, are the first that present themselves in case of an at- 
tack, and pinch with considerable strength. It is also said that they 
force the /abowrers to work. The seminymphs have rudiments of 
wings, and in other respects resemble the larve. 
Having become perfect Insects, the Termites leave their original 
retreat, and fly off at evening or during the night in incalculable 
numbers. At sun-rise they lose their wings, which are dried up, fall 
to the ground, and are mostly devoured by Birds, Lizards, and the 
rest of their enemies. According to Smeathmann, the larve seize 
upon all the couples they can find, and shut them up in a large cell, 
a sort of nuptial prison, where they supply them with nourishment. 
I have reason to believe, however, that their coitus, like that of the 
Ant, takes place in the air, or beyond the precincts of their habitation, 
and that the females alone occupy the attention of the larvae, with a 
view to the formation of a new colony. The abdomen of the female 
acquires an astonishing size, from the innumerable quantity of ova 
contained in it. ‘The nuptial chamber is placed in the centre of the 
dwelling, and round it, symmetrically arranged, are the cells which 
contain the eggs and provisions. 
The larvee of certain Termites called voyageurs or travellers, are 
furnished with eyes, and appear to differ somewhat in their habits 
from the others, and in this respect to approximate more closely to 
our ants. 
The Negroes and Hottentots consider these Insects as a great de- 
licacy. “They are destroyed with quick-lime, or more readily with 
arsenic, which is thrown into their habitations. 
The two following species, found in the south of France, live in the 
interior of various trees. 
T. lucifugum Ross., Faun. Etrusc., Mant. II, v, k. Glossy- 
black ; wings brownish, somewhat diaphanous, with the rib more 
XS (a) We saw a beautiful edifice in the Isle of France that was abandoned within 
a few months after it was completed, on this account. The whole building was a 
mere shell.—-ENe, Eb. 
