254 



Arthropoda. 



indigenous to warm countries. Amongst them is tlie apterous genus. 

 Bacillus, whose long body, together with the elongate legs, looks like a dry 

 branched twig ; some species in South Europe. In the East Indian, Phylliwm 

 siccifolvwm, the Leaf -insect, the broad abdomen and elytra are leaf -like. 



7. The Termites, (genus Termes, and others) possess four large, thin 

 wings, which ai-e all alike, and cannot be folded up. The antennse are short, 

 and moniliform, the legs are like one another. The Termites are specially 

 remarkable for living in large colonies, including, besides fertile males and 

 females, a large number of apterous and blind individuals in which the sexual 

 organs (in some examples male, in others, female) remain in an immature 

 condition. Some of these wingless individuals are possessed of larger heads 

 and more powerful mandibles, and are termed "soldiers," whilst the others 

 are termed "workers"; the nest is made by the workers, either by gnawing 

 passages and chambers in tree-trunks and lining them with a layer of excreta, 

 or by constructing such dwellings out of excreta and earth. They often 

 form extensive tunnels in the ground. The soldiers defend the nest against 

 attack. Before pauing the males and females leave the nest, fly about for a. 



Fig. 212. Termes lucifugus. 1 Worker. 2 Sol- 

 dier. 3 Male or female, with wings. 4 Female 

 shortly after flight. 5 Female later, with enlarged 

 abdomen. — After Lespfes. 



short time, lose their wings, and the majority die, only a few making their way 

 back to the nest, where copulation occurs. Then, in many forms, the abdomen 

 of the female enlarges* to an extraordinary extent. Besides the winged males 

 and females there are apparently others which, as regards the stnioture of the 

 wings, remain at one of the older larval stages, in which merely short stumps are 

 present ; they do not leave the nest, and only become functional if none of the 

 males or females which flew from the nest return. Some species differ in certain 

 respects from this description ; many of their habits are by no means thoroughly 

 understood. The Termites, also called "White Ajats," live chiefly in the tropics, 

 but there are two species in South Em-ope (one of which is figured in Pig. 

 212) ; they often do a large amount of damage by making their nests in wood- 

 work, and by eating clothes or furniture. 



8. The Dragon-flies {Libellulidx) possess four large wings almost equal 

 in size, and closely veined. The head is very movable, with large compound eyes 

 and three accessory eyes, short antennse, strong mandibles, no first maxiUae or 



