126 ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS—THE WEB OF LIFE 
apertures, giving free access to the workers, and furthering ven- 
tilation. The king lives here of his own free-will, while the queen 
is obliged to be a prisoner, for her abdomen is so filled with eggs 
as to be of relatively enormous size. Attendant crowds of workers 
are constantly to be found within the royal chamber, attending to 
the various wants of the king and queen, and carrying away the 
eggs, which are sometimes laid at the rate of 60 per minute 
(fig. rro1). Numerous worker-dwellings (s) adjoin the abode of 
their titular sovereigns, and the outer part of the ground-floor is 
eZ 
SS 
= ZEA 
ggegaaz 
e 
Fg. r101.—Royal Cell of Warrior Termite (7ermes beldicosus), broken open to show queen (Q) and her attendants 
e (on left), Openings into royal cell; e (on right), an opening that has been closed up; about 34 natural size. 
occupied by numerous store-chambers (7) in which are heaped up 
gums and other dry vegetable products. The first floor (B) is a 
large pillared hall, which has no known use except that of serv- 
ing as an air-space. The second floor (c) may be called the 
“nursery”, for here the eggs are hatched out, and the young 
nymphs carefully tended. The space is subdivided by means of 
strong vertical partitions (a), and the central portion is marked 
off into a large number of small compartments (4), separated from 
one another by more delicate party-walls (c). The third story or 
attic is simply an air-space. It will be noted that the arrange- 
ments are such as to further the maintenance of equable con- 
ditions as regards temperature and moisture, to variations in 
which Termites appear to be particularly sensitive. 
