SOCIAL INSECTS 125 
which was long ago investigated by Smeathman in West Africa. 
His description in the P&zlosophical Transactions for 1781 is 
astonishingly correct, considering the date at which it was written. 
Each of the vastly numerous communities constructs and lives in 
a wonderfully solid dwelling in the form of a mound that may 
be as much as 20 feet high, and is shaped something like a 
sugar-loaf. It is chiefly made of earth glued together with 
saliva, while a good deal of the interior work is carried out with 
the materials already mentioned for other species. A single 
Sete e es BSE Sie At 
nan Queee- 
erponpnnn ener 
Bs tl 
2 
Hil M 
i‘ i at a if Bee, me 
aa 
: 
I! ih i i il i i Na oer P ne 
Fig. r100.—Section through Mound of Warrior Termite (Terizes bellicosus), greatly reduced. For 
description see text. 
SS 
royal couple constitute the centre of social life, and there are 
both worker and soldier castes, the members of the former being 
much the larger. The name “soldier” is not altogether a happy 
one, for it appears that the workers fight much better, while the 
supposed military individuals are rather fond of looking on. 
Below the termite dwelling (fig. 1100) are excavations (c) from 
which earth for building is procured, while the dwelling itself is 
divided into four stories (A—p), surrounded by a common external 
wall (# on left), which is traversed by transverse and longitudinal 
galleries (f on right). The centre of the ground-floor (a) is 
occupied by the royal chamber (7), which is of considerable size, 
and enclosed by a curved wall in which there are numerous 
