TERMITES 



of colonies that live in the ground, for such nests (Fig. 

 86 D) are connected with an underground nest by covered 

 runways extending down the trunk of the tree. 



The queens of nearly all the termites that live in perma- 

 nent nests attain an enormous size by the growth of the 

 abdomen, the body becoming thus so huge that the royal 



Fig. 86. Four common types of above-ground nests made by tropical termites 



A, type of small mound nest, varying from a few inches to several feet in height. 



B, type of a large tower or steeple nest, reaching a height of 9 or 10 feet. C, 

 a mushroom-shaped nest, made by certain African termites, from 3 to 16 inches 

 high. D, a tree nest, showing the covered runway going down to the ground 



female is rendered completely helpless, and must be 

 attended in all her wants by the workers. With such 

 species the queen is housed in a special royal chamber 

 which she never leaves. Her body becomes practically a 

 great bag in which the eggs are produced, and so great 

 is the fertility of one of these queens that the ripened eggs 

 continually issue from her body. It has been estimated 

 that in one such species the queen lays four thousand 

 eggs a day, and that in another species her daily output 

 may be thirty thousand. Ten million eggs a year is pos- 



[ '49] 



