34 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



White ants^ 



These insects, despite their general resemblance to the more 

 common ants, are very different creatures. The flying ants, 

 though having somewhat the same size as some of our winged, 

 black ants, may be recognized at once by the numerous veins of 

 the wings. White ants are frequently very injurious to buildings 

 or their contents, particularly in Washington and to the south- 

 ward. Occasionally they cause serious injuries in New York, and 

 in at least one instance established themselves in safe deposit 

 vaults and proceeded to destroy valuable records and to tunnel 

 the wooden blocks of electrotypes. The whitish, wingless, antlike 

 forms make large tunnels in woody and other vegetable fibers. 



Fig. 18 White ants: a, adult male from above; b, posterior extremity of the same 

 from below; c, the same of the female: d, male seen from the side; e, side view of the 

 abdomen of the female; f, tarsus showing the segments and the claw; a, d, e, are en- 

 larged; h. c, f, greatly enlarged. (After jNIarlatt, U. S. Dep't Agric. Div. Ent. Bui. 4. 

 n. s. 1896) 



invariably avoiding the light. They pass from one object to 

 another only through covered galleries. The secrecy with which 

 these pests operate enables them to cause extensive injury before 

 their presence is suspected. These peculiar insects are familiar 

 to many who have observed their operations in an old stump. 



Control measures. Nothing but the most thorough work will 

 clean a building or a vault of these insects, because their burrowing 

 habits enable them to get beyond the reach of destructive gases. 

 An infested vault should have everything removed, every crack 

 and crevice thoroughly cleaned and then special attention given 

 to doors or other means of entrance, to see that there is no possi- 



^Termes flavipes Kollar. 



