WINGED TERMITK. 



512 TERMITES. 



of the young, and in collecting and bringing in food for the 

 support of the population. Then come the soldiers, who 

 defend the fortress, or, as more frequently happens, sacrifice 

 themselves for the protection of the rest. The two most 

 important personages of the community are the king and 

 queen, who are the parents of future colonies. These are 



always found in every perfect 

 termitariuin. There are also a 

 large number of winged termites, 

 male and female, who, at a certain 

 period of the year — generally at 

 the commencement of the rainy season — issue forth from the 

 hive into the world. Although a large number are destroyed, 

 a few escape, and, pairing, become the parents of fresh colonies. 

 The formation of a new citadel or colony takes place some- 

 what in the following manner : — On a mound becoming over- 

 stocked, a party of workers, guarded by a body of soldiers, 

 issue forth, and commence a fresh edifice at a distance from 

 the old one. Here they form a large cell in the centre, sur- 

 rounded by numerous galleries leading to smaller cells. From 

 thence they run their covered ways, in suitable directions, 

 towards spots whence they can obtain their necessary supplies 

 of food and building materials. This being accomplished, they 

 go in search of a royal pair ; whom, when they have found, 

 under a leaf or clod of earth, they conduct into the interior 

 cell, where they are installed in due state. The newly-married 

 couple, who have by this time got rid of their wings, are con- 

 siderably larger than the rest of the population, but are help- 

 less individuals, having neither the power of working nor 

 fighting. The king soon dies ; but his consort, instead of 

 pining for his loss, sets herself to work for the benefit of 



