Five tribes constitute this order: the Panorpates
(scorpion flies), the Myrmileoniens, the Hemerobins, the Termitines
and the Perlides. It is useless to add that the insects which now
interest us, and whose dwelling we occupy, perhaps unduly, are the
Termitines."
At this moment Dick Sand listened very attentively to Cousin Benedict.
Had the meeting with these termites excited in him the thought that he
was perhaps on the African continent, without knowing by what chance
he had arrived there? The young novice was very anxious to find out.
The savant, mounted on his favorite hobby, continued to ride it
beautifully.
"Now these termitines," said he, "are characterized by four joints
on the instep, horned jaws, and remarkable strength. We have the
_mantispe_ species, the _raphidie_, and the termite species. The last
is often known under the term of white ants, in which we count the
deadly termite, the yellow corslet termite, the termite that shuns the
light, the biter, the destroyer--"
"And those that constructed this ant-hill?" asked Dick Sand.
"They are the martial ants," replied Cousin Benedict, who pronounced
this word as if it had been the Macedonians, or some other ancient
people brave in war. "Yes, the warlike ants, and of all sizes.
Between Hercules and a dwarf the difference would be less than
between the largest of these insects and the smallest.
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