Sabattus High School - Yearbook (Sabattus, ME)

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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

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B'TS Bees belong to the order of lnsects called Hymenoptera Cgauzed, wlngedl They are the most ingenious workers of all the insects and they stand at the head of the lnsect series Over five thousand specles of bees are known They live ln hives and may be found ln all part f the world, especlally in the troplcs The two most common kind of bees are the Soclal Bees, and the Honeyb csCBumblebees and the stingless Honeybees of the troplcal zone! The Solltary Bees include the leai cutting bees and carpenter bees The Honeybees are noted for their skill 1n maklng honey whleh lS made from the pollen and nectar of flowers The nectar lS stored up ln waxed cells which are present ln every hlve An ordlnary hlve of bees make as much as two hundred pounds of honey ln a day, whlch proves that bees are the most efflclent devlce used in turning nectar into honey Bees use honey for food and lt In each hive of bees there may be found three K1ndS of bees They are The workers or undeveloped female, queen, a fully developed female, and the drone, or male bee Each of these bees has its own special work to do, therefore, all work together for the good of the hive The queen acts as the mother of each bee 1n the hive, which numb rs from 10,000 to 100,000 bees Che also lays all the eggs of the hlve, which may be as many as three thousand a day The worker bees gather all the nectar and pollen from flowers, fill all the combs, and care for the young or baby bees These worker bees work very hard because their stomachs are only about as large as the head of a pln, therefore it must flll and empty lts stomach more than flfty times to get a half thimble full of nectar The drones are incapable of gathering nectar and serve only one purpose whlch 1S of fertllizing the young queens As soon as the mating season is over, the drones are shoved out of their hives and allowed to starve The queens live as long as five years, the drones during one season, whlle the workers live only about five weeks Bees cause the cross pollinatlon of many plants The Honey bees whlch gather nectar for honey are the most important carriers of pollen They have two tiny cups on their hind legs to take pollen to the hive, but some cllngs to their bodles and is carrled to other flowers The nectar stays in the flowers to which it has been taken, thus causing cross pollination which is merely the transfer of nectar from one plant to the stamen of the other plant, then the new seeds develop in the new plant Bees are also often necessary for the production of a good crop Phyllis Maxwell '47 Biology an . . . . . ' . I . ' s o - ' . 5 . Q - n ' D I . ' is also used for food by human beings and animals. G N l LJ ' , . . V , . . . . I 3 . . I l O . , 0