TERMITES (“WHITE ANTS”)
Reading edition
The organized social life of the “White Ants” or Termites is of unusual interest for the student of animal intelligence. The Termites have kings, queens, soldiers and workers.
Not related to the true Ants, the Termites are not unlike our Roaches in the construction of their bodies. Though found in the United States and in Europe, their main habitats are Africa and Australia. In the latter countries their so-called nests are of prodigious dimensions, exceeding sometimes five hundred times the length of the Insect (ten to twelve millimeters), thus surpassing the tallest buildings constructed by Man relative to the height of the builders. While the height of Termite nests are sometimes more than 500 times the length of the Insect, the Eiffel Tower is but 175 times as tall as the workers who reared it. “The number of dwellers in these nests exceeds by count the number of inhabitants of many large countries” (Molostwoff).