QUEER LITTLE FOLKS. 129 



of the nests the leaves ferment and produce minute fungi, 

 upon which the larva of the ants feed. In effecting this 

 object they seem to have long anticipated man in the con- 

 struction of under-ground beds for the production of mush- 

 rooms and truffles. To a large extent these insects decide 

 upon the kind of vegetation which shall grow in the regions 

 which they inhabit. Only the kinds which the ants do not 

 use can survive. The farm crop to which they take a fancy 

 is destroyed at once. 



4. One of the most noted of the destructive insect com- 

 munities are the termites, which, though scientifically placed 

 in another genus, are usually ranked among the ants, and 

 are popularly known as white ants. In organization the 

 termites resemble the bees, each community owing alle- 

 giance to a single queen, and otherwise divided into males 

 or drones and workers. Unlike the bees, they have a dis- 

 tinct class of soldiers to preserve order and to defend the 

 home. The queen grows to such monstrous size that she 

 can not move, but devotes herself to the business of laying 

 eggs, which she does at the rate of eighty thousand per 

 day. 



5. Some varieties of these termites build dwellings often 

 twenty feet high, pyramidal in shape, and frequently 

 adorned with turrets. These structures are so solid that 

 the wild cattle often climb upon them without crushing 

 their walls. The interiors are divided into chambers, with 

 galleries, that often extend many feet under ground. A vil- 

 lage consisting of the dwellings of the termites presents a 

 very remarkable appearance, and it is almost impossible to 

 believe that it is the work of so diminutive an insect. 

 Were man to build as high proportionally, his structures 

 would be five times as high as the pyramids of Egypt. 



6. Another variety of termites do not build for them- 

 selves, but take possession of human habitations. From 

 their galleries under ground they make their way into 



