328 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XXVIl 
Smeatliman frequently observed old queens which pro¬ 
truded sixty in, a minute. As there is reason to believe 
that a queen lives several years, the amount of eggs she 
produces is prodigious. The eggs, as soon as laid, are 
removed by the attendant workers to the nurseries, fed 
and watched until they are capable of taking care 
Termites (White Aiits). 
A, Winged form ; near the liase of each wing there is a line of 
weakness along which the wings break off, leaving the 
stumps as short horny flaps ; B, female; C, soldier; 
11, worker. 
of themselves, and develop into workers, soldiers, and 
winged individuals. 
The life-history of termites has not been followed in 
great detail for several reasons : they live in com¬ 
munities concealed from observation ; isolated indivi¬ 
duals do not thrive ; and their growth is unusually slow 
as compared with other insects. 
A study of the nests (termitaria) is interesting. The 
material used for their construction is either earth, wood, 
or the excrement of the termites, and the large edifices 
constructed by them are so solid that they look like 
stone and are so hard that it requires a pickaxe or a 
