THE TERMITES. 191 



building, and partly because it is surrounded by great crowds 

 of workers and soldiers, willing to risk their lives in its 

 defence. The interior also, in addition to the royal pair, is 

 found filled with hundreds of the workers serving the latter. 

 These faithful servants do not desert their sovereigns even 

 in utmost need and peril. For when I," says Smeathman, 

 " took out such a royal dwelling and kept it in a large glass 

 vessel, all the servants busied themselves with the greatest 

 care about their sovereigns, and I saw some of them engaged 

 at the head of the queen as though they were giving her 

 something. They then took away from her abdomen the 

 eggs laid by her, and carried them carefully into some 

 unbroken parts of the building, or between scraps of clay as 

 well as they could." 



Life in such a nest, and especially the remarkable division 

 of labor between workers and soldiers, can best be observed 

 by making a sudden attack on the mound. Smeathman 

 and other observers, such as Forskal, Konig, Sparman, etc., 

 say that if a hole is made from outside in a Termites' hill 

 with a strong hoe or axe the first thing that catches our 

 attention is the behavior of the soldiers. Immediately after 

 the blow a single soldier (perhaps a general or one of the 

 higher staff officers ?) appears in the breach, and seems to 

 seek for the cause of the injury and the nature of the foe. 

 He then withdraws into the interior, and gives a signal of 

 alarm, whereat in the shortest possible time, as quickly as 

 the size of the hole permits, masses of soldiers pour out. 

 It is difficult to describe the fury with which these warlike 

 insects fight. In their eagerness to drive back the enemy 

 they often fall down the sides of the mound, but 

 they soon recover themselves and bite at everything that 

 comes in their way. This snapping, together with the 

 striking of their mandibles against the building, make a 

 crackling or tremulous noise, rather sharper and quicker than 

 the ticking of a watch, which can be heard at a distance 

 of several feet^ During the attack they are in the most 

 active movement and excitement. If they succeed in reaching 

 any part of the human body they instantly inflict a rather 

 painful wound, and a spot of blood more than an inch in 

 size appears on the stocking. Their curved mandibles meet 

 at the first bite, and do not loose their hold even when the 

 creature's body is torn off bit by bit. On the other hand, 



