Sabattus High School - Yearbook (Sabattus, ME)

Page 51 text:

THE DESTRUCTIVE TERMHTES Termites are a family of insects composing the order Isop teraf which have a superficlal resemblance to ants, tho far re moved from them in structure, but they are allled to the Mayflies They also resemble ants in being social insects, living 1n colon les and building Nnestsn or 'hills' They are wldely dlstrlbuted in tropical countrles, but also occur in the temperate parts of North and South America, and a few have established themselves in Europe Their food consists mostly of wood and they will not stop at eating anything outside of metal or concrete The termites are mostly Wingless Beside these workers, there is a less numerous caste of large headed, blind, strong Jawed soldiers, but these are not so well differentiatedxas amons the true ants The workers collect food, form burrows and tunnels build Hhlllsn, and care for the males, females, eggs and larvae' The queen is extremely prolific, having been known to lay sixty eggs a minute or about eighty thousand eggs in one day A male 1 also kept in the royal chamber The workers attend the queen with great care, since she exudes a sweet liquid which attracts them So eager are they for this food, that they sometlmes eat through the side of the queen but the winged forms are much larger and flatter, and their wings are quite different The workers have large, broad heads and v ry strong Jaws adapted for gnawing, the soldlers have still larg r heads and stronger jaws About twelve hundred species are known, of whlch Europe has about two A few species of termites are known ln the United States and though they do not build large mound nests, like they do in the tropics, they do considerable damage by tunneling through fence posts, trees, timbers of wooden buildings, brldges, trestles and other structures The United States Department of Agriculture recommends the use of stone, brick or concrete, for foundations of bridges and trestles, and for support posts of buildings When tlmber has to be used, it should be treated with insecticide' Most t rmites cannot live wlthout water, and cutting off the supply of moisture is effective GLOSSARY Isoptera Equal winged insects Differentiated To make a person or thing different Larvae Babies, young 4 Insecticide A preparation, such as poison James Park Bi0logy Class . , ,. . . . O . B . ' S In general appearance and size, a Wingless termite is antlike . 1 e . , - . S O O - e ' ' . x L , ' 0 x 2 , . x 3 , . 8 Q