One of the most remarkable families belonging to this order is that of the Termites, or white ants. They abound in the tropics, where they are a perfect pest, and a serious impediment to human development. Their colonies are extremely numerous, and they attack woodwork and furniture of all kinds, generally working from within, so that their presence is often unsuspected, until it is suddenly found that they have completely eaten away the interior of some post or table, leaving nothing but a thin outer shell. Their nests, which are made of earth, are sometimes ten or twelve feet high, and strong enough to bear a man. One species, _Termes lucifugus_, is found in the South of France, where it has been carefully studied by Latreille. He found in these communities five kinds of individuals—(1) males; (2) females, which grow to a very large size, their bodies being distended with eggs, of which they sometimes lay as many as 80,000 in a day; (3) a form described by some observers as Pupæ, but by others as neuters. These differ very much from the others, having a long, soft body without wings, but with an immense head, and very large, strong jaws. These individuals act as soldiers, doing apparently no work, but keeping watch over the nest and attacking intruders with great boldness. (4) Apterous, eyeless individuals, somewhat resembling the winged ones, but with a larger and more rounded head; these constitute the greater part of the community, and, like the workers of ants and bees, perform all the labour, building the nest and collecting food. (5) Latreille mentions another kind of individual which he regards as the pupa, and which resembles the workers, but has four white tubercles on the back, where the wings afterwards make their appearance. There is still, however, much difference of opinion among entomologists, with reference to the true nature of these different classes of individuals. M. Lespès, who has recently studied the same species, describes a second kind of male and a second kind of female, and the subject, indeed, is one which offers a most promising field for future study.