390 
STRANGE DWELLINGS . 
nest made, and the young brought into the world. Surely it is 
no wonder that mice are so plentiful, or that their many enemies 
fail to exterminate them. 
A general account of the Termites, or White Ants as 
they are popularly but erroneously called, has been given under 
the head of Building Insects, and it has been mentioned that 
the female, or queen, has a cell distinct from the habitation of 
her subjects, and that she never leaves it until her death. In 
order that the reader should understand more fully the 
structure of the royal cell, an illustration of it is here intro- 
duced. 
When viewed from the outside, it would hardly be recognised 
for the habitation of an insect, for it looks like a large lump of 
hardened clay, about as large as an ordinary French roll, and 
not very unlike it in shape. On a closer inspection, a number 
of little holes may be seen, and these apertures afford an un- 
failing indication as to the real nature of the clay lump. Fig. 2 
represents the external appearance of one of these cells. 
Supposing that a queen Termite cell be cut vertically, so that 
the knife passes through either of the little round holes, it will 
present an appearance which is shown at Fig. 1. The large 
hollow of the cell is nearly filled by the body of the female, 
whose head and thorax are seen in the cavity. On either side 
is a section of the little holes, which are shown to be cylin- 
drical passages communicating with the interior of the cell. 
The worker Termites, being very small, can traverse these 
passages with perfect ease, while the enormous body of the 
female is utterly unable to pass. 
Through these passages the workers are continually passing, 
some entering with empty jaws, and others emerging, each 
holding between its mandibles an egg, which it is conveying to 
the nurseries. So rapidly are the eggs laid, that the workers 
are fully employed in carrying them out and placing them 
under the charge of the nurses. 
The contrast in size between the workers and the queen can 
easily be seen by reference to the illustration. At Fig. 5 is 
