ttBugs"

Wickersham. Chas. Company, Los R. McCormick Lumber Angeles

IIave you ever been bothered, while driving, by what y-ou called "flying ants ?" No doubt you have, as they are a pest frecluently encountered in the southwest. Now comes the enlomologist and says they are not ants at all but termites. commonly knou'n in the tropical countries as "rvhite ants."

,\ brief investigation of the reports of the Smithsonian h.r:;titute discloses a number of interesting facts. There are norv 43 known species in the United States. Of these, 19 r arieties have been found in Arizona and 8 in California. Of our California varieties at least three are known to be ciestructive to frame buildings and electric line poles.

According to the Government reports .the termites have a clefinite purpose in our forests where they live in down t-rnber and help in the process of decay and disintegration. It is not surprising that they have followed the tree to its u'iimate use. and there continued their activities.

The familr. life of the termites is interesting. The males

Of the three destructive varieties there are trvo that lvork in cedar poles. The Reteculitermes enter the pole below the ground and work on the butt while the Kalotermes enter the pole at times of swarming through checks in the top and work from the top to the ground line. The third variety works in frame buildings.

The "bugs" seem to be specially fond of cedar, possibly I;ecause of its high flavor. But they eat freely of Douglas Fir, Redwood, Hemlock and also hardrvoods. As an example of the latter, they attack locust insulator pins, and have been found in the Oak rvoodwork in the courthouse of one of our Southern California counties.

Reports have come of linemen who took sections of old poles to their homes to make firewood and thus unwittingly planted the termites in their houses with disastrous results. -fhere is of course no immediate danger of a general attack of our frame buildings, but it might not be impossible, fr.,r they are spreading and hardly an important district in the state but has reported them.

A good physician never diagnoses an ailment without prescribing a cure. So it is proper that a remedy should be r.Sgested in this articie. Certain substances are distasteful and females (see Fig. 1) receive rvings about twice a year and fly away to start new colonies. The rvorkers are rvithout sex and do most of the destructive rvork. They are blind and white. Each colony also has some soldiers (as shown in Fig. 2) r,vhich are larger and are provided with sharp mandibiles. They protect the helpless rvorkers fronr certain insect enemieS such as the common red ants, rvhich feed on the white ones.

These termites were first reported in the southern end of the state but they have nolv been found as far north as Shasta County. Most of their activities have been confined to Cedar poles. Figures No. 3 and 4 show typical views of this action. At first the linemen reported them as worm eaten or rotten, but finally the termites were found ancl the industry realized that it had a new enemy to combat.

3 Fis.4

to the termites. For instance rvood that has been thoroughly impregnated with creosote 1s lN% immune to their attacks. No doubt other substances may be found. But so far noihing has proven itself as being"both practical and economical and at the same time able to rvithstand the elements. You will soon see the country dotted rvith poles creosoted their full length. Who can say but what the time will come when every retail lumber vard will carrv a stock of treated material for use next to the grouncl ":; noin, recommended by the government bureaus?