INSECTS 



never express surprise when dealing with insects; and for 

 the present we must accept the strange development 

 of the young termites as a matter of tact, and pass on. 



During the middle of winter things remain thus in the 

 new family colony. The members of termite species 

 that live in the ground, or that pass from wood into the 

 ground, probably have tunneled deep into the earth for 



protection from the cold. But in 

 February, the mother termite, now 

 the queen of the brood, responds 

 again to the urge of maternity with 

 some more eggs, probably with a 

 greater number this time than on 

 the first occasion. A month later, 

 or during March, the termitary is 

 once more enlivened with young 

 termites. The king and the queen 

 are now, however, relieved of the 

 routine of nursery duties by the 

 workers of the first brood. The 

 latter take over the feeding and 

 care of their new brothers and 

 sisters, and also do all the excava- 

 tion work involved in the enlarging 

 of the home. 



In the spring the termites as- 

 cend to the surface of the ground 

 beneath a board or log, or at the 

 base of a stump, and reoccupy 

 their former habitation. As the 

 galleries are extended, the family 

 moves along, slowly migrating thus 

 to uneaten parts of the wood and leaving the old tunnels 

 behind them mostly packed with excreted wood-pulp and 

 earth. 



When June comes again, the young family may consist 

 of several dozen individuals; but all, except the king and 



[138] 



Fig. 81. A queen of the 

 third form, or wingless re- 

 productive caste, of Rcti- 

 culitermes flampes, (From 

 Banks and Snyder) 



