SPECIES INJURIOUS TO WALL PAPER, BOOKS, ETC. 



73 



they bore, and from which they seem to be able to extract a certain 

 amount of nourishment, sometimes redeyouring the same material sev- 

 eral times. They are also somewhat cannibalistic, and will devour the 

 superfluous members of the colony without compunction, and normally 

 consume all dead individuals, cast skins, and other refuse material. They 

 may also feed to a certain extent on the liquids produced by the decaying 

 vegetable matter in which they live, and perhaps on the fungoid ele- 

 ments resulting from such decay. They are capable also of exuding a 

 sort of nectar, which is used to feed the young and the royal pair, and 

 which they also generously give to each other. 



All except the migrating winged forms are incapable of enduring 

 full sunlight, and the soft, delicate bodies of the workers, soldiers, and 

 yuong rapidly shrivel when exposed. 

 In all their operations, therefore, they 

 carefully conceal themselves, and in 

 their mining of timbers or books and 

 papers the surface is always left intact, 

 and whenever it is necessary for them 

 to extend their colonies it is only done 

 under the protection of covered run- 

 ways, which they construct of par- 

 ticles of comminuted wood or little 

 pellets of excrement. In this way the 

 damage which they are doing is often 

 entirely hidden, and not until furni- fig 

 ture breaks down or the underpinning 

 and timbers of houses or floors yield 



is the injury recognized. The swarming of winged individuals in the 

 early summer, if in or about houses, is an indication of their injurious 

 presence and warrants an immediate investigation to prevent serious 

 damage later on. 



The common termite of America is very widespread, occurring from 

 the Atlantic to the Pacific and from Canada southward to the Gulf. 

 It has been found on the mountains of Colorado and Washington at a 

 height of over 7,000 feet. In prairie regions it may often be seen during 

 the swarming season issuing from the ground at frequent intervals 

 over large pasture tracts, where it must feed on the roots of grass and 

 other herbage. It has also been carried to other countries and is a 

 common and often very injurious enemy of buildings and libraries 

 in Europe. A closely allied and equally injurious European species 

 ( Termes ludfugus) has also been brought to this country in exchange for 

 ours, but compared with our own species is somewhat rare though 

 already widely distributed. In this country serious damage to build 

 ings from the white ant has not been of common occurrence, especially 

 in the North, except in some notable instances. In Europe our 

 species has caused greater damage, and some years ago gained access 

 to one of the Imperial hothouses at Vienna, and in spite o( all efforts 



-Termes flavipes : a, newly-hatched 

 larva ; b. same from l>elow ; c, egg— all en- 

 larged to same scale (original). 



