The great ant-eater, dozing during the hot hours of the day within the
shady coverts of the forest, sallies forth in the cool of the evening to
search for its insect prey on the open Campos. The surface of the
ground is there, in many districts, raised into conical hillocks, some
five feet in height, and streaked by lines which differ in colour from
the surrounding earth, and lead in all directions, over decayed timber
and the roots of herbage, from one hillock to the other. These hillocks
are the habitations of those curious small pale-coloured and soft-bodied
insects called termites, or white ants. They differ very greatly from
the true ants in their mode of growth, or metamorphosis, though similar
to them in their habits.
The true ant, when emerging from the egg, is a footless grub, and
remains in the pupa, or quiescent stage, inclosed in a membrane, till
its limbs are developed. The termites at once possess the form they are
to bear through life, except that the sexual individuals, during the
latter stages of their growth, gradually acquire eyes and wings. They
belong, indeed, to two very dissimilar orders of insects. The ant-bear,
however, never troubles himself about this matter; but, scraping away
with his powerful claws, soon breaks open the citadel which the
industrious insects have formed during days of unremitting toil.
The mounds of the termites differ in composition. Some, consisting of
earth, are worked into a substance as hard as stone. The coloured lines
on the ground mark the covered ways which lead from the places where the
insects obtain their food, or the materials for their habitations. The
mounds exhibit no openings for egress or ingress. They are often formed
by several distinct species of termites, each of which keeps to its own
portion of the mounds, and uses different materials. Within the
fortress exist a vast number of chambers, with galleries connecting
them, composed sometimes of particles of earth, and at others of
vegetable matter, cemented by the saliva of the insects. As they live
on dry food, and in regions where no water is found, it is supposed that
they may possess the power of combining, by vital force, the oxygen and
hydrogen of their vegetable food, and thus form water. This
supposition, if correct, accounts for the large amount of liquid which
they employ in the construction of their cells. The inhabitants of
these structures consist of differently formed insects, employed in
various distinct occupations. The most numerous are the labourers, who
have to toil for the benefit of the community. They are sexless and
blind; yet, without the power of sight, they are ceaselessly employed in
the construction of these curious mounds, or in taking care 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 termitarium. 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 somewhat in the
following manner:--On a mound becoming overstocked, 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, surrounded 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 considerably larger than the rest of the population, but are
helpless 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 posterity, by laying a countless
number of eggs. As soon as these are deposited the workers carry them
off, and place them in the cells, where they watch over them with the
most vigilant care, supplying the larvae with food as soon as they are
hatched; and when the nursery becomes full, carrying some off in their
mouths to another cell. While some are thus employed, others increase
the size of their abode by running fresh corridors round the edifice,
and forming new cells; while other parties, protected by soldiers, are
foraging far and wide for food for the ever-increasing population.
In process of time--always within twelve months--the numberless progeny
of the queen become full-grown. Some become developed into labourers,
with smooth, rounded heads, and mouths adapted for carrying loads and
working up the materials for the construction of their abodes; others--
the fighting class--have heads of large size, provided with pointed
weapons of defence of various shapes, resembling, in different species,
horns, pikes, rams; while others are furnished with powerful jaws,
resembling either sabres, swords, or sickles. A third class appear with
eyes, and long, delicate wings--gay, happy creatures, far better formed,
it would seem, to enjoy existence than their hard-working brethren.
These are the males and females of the community. When they are
prepared to issue forth from their birth-place, the labourers busily set
to work to clear a passage to allow of their speedy egress. This takes
place generally on a damp, close evening or cloudy morning. Countless
numbers issue forth at intervals, till the whole progeny of males and
females have emerged from their pupa state. They make a loud rustling
noise as they fly through the air in all directions; but they are
immediately set upon by numberless enemies,--goatsuckers, lizards,
spiders, and ants,--who greedily eat them up. On reaching the ground
they immediately divest themselves of their wings; and the few pairs
which escape from their foes seek safety in some hollow beneath a leaf
or lump of earth, where they await the arrival of the faithful
labourers, who now come forth in search of them, and conduct them, as
has before been said, to the newly-formed abode prepared for their
reception. And thus the wonderful process goes forward year after year.
So utterly helpless are these males and females, that, were it not for
the assistance of other individuals, the race would speedily become
extinct. The warrior termites are utterly regardless of personal
safety. When their castle is attacked, they appear in vast numbers at
the breach, to cover the retreat of the labourers. As the long tongue
of the ant-eater is projected among them, they throw themselves on it;
and no sooner is one regiment swallowed up than another rushes out to
take its place--thus, by the sacrifice of themselves, enabling the rest
of the community to seek safety in flight.