THE TERMITES. 205 



much resemble larvae. I satisfied myself, after studying 

 the habits of these insects daily for several months, that the 

 winged Termites were males and females in about equal 

 numbers, and that some of them, after shedding their wings 

 and pairing, became kings and queens of new colonies ; 

 also, that the soldiers and workers were individuals which 

 had arrived at their full growth without passing through the 

 same stages as their fertile brothers and sisters. A Termi- 

 tarium, although of different shape, size, texture of materials, 

 and built in different situations, according to the species, is 

 always composed of a vast number of chambers and irregular 

 inter-communicating galleries, built up with particles of 

 earth or separate matter, cemented together by the saliva 

 of the insects. There is no visible mode of ingress or egress, 

 the entrances being connected with covered roads, which are 

 the sole means of communication with the outer world. 

 The structures are prominent objects in all tropical countries. 

 The very large hillocks at Santarem are the work of many 

 distinct species, each of which uses materials differently 

 compacted, and keeps to its own portion of the tumulus. 

 One kind, Termes arenarius, on which these remarks are 

 chiefly founded, makes little conical hillocks of friable 

 structure, a foot or two in height, and is generally the sole 

 occupier. Another kind (Termes exiguus) builds small dome- 

 shaped papery edifices. Many species live on trees, their 

 earthy nests, of all sizes, looking like ugly excrescences on 

 the trunks and branches. Some are wholly subterranean, 

 and others live under the bark, or in the interior of trees ; it 

 is these two latter kinds which get into houses and destroy 

 furniture, books, and clothing. All hires do not contain a 

 queen and her partner. Some are new constructions, and, 

 when taken to pieces, show only a large number of workers 

 occupied in bringing eggs from an old over-stocked Termi- 

 tarium, with a small detachment of soldiers, evidently told 

 off for their protection. A few weeks before the exodus of 

 the winged males and females a complete Termitarium con- 

 tains Termites of all castes, and in all stages of development. 

 On close examination I found the young of each of the four 

 orders of individuals crowded together, and apparently 

 feeding in the same cells. The full-grown workers showed 

 the greatest attention to the young larvae, carrying them in 

 their mouths along the galleries from one cell to another, 



