e surprisingly weakened and decreased;
at the utmost I do not think they live more than two days; and these
insects, so industrious, courageous, and destructive in the two first
periods of their existence, become the prey of innumerable enemies.
Indolent, and incapable of resisting the smallest insects, they are hunted
by various species from place to place, and not one pair in millions get
into a place of safety, to fulfil the laws of nature and propagation.

Their wings in a short time fall from them, and the ponds and brooks are
covered with their carcases. The Negroes in many places collect them in
their calabashes, dry them, and fry them on a slow fire, which they
consider as a delicious morsel.

A few, however, escape the general dissolution, several pairs of them are
found by those of the first genus, as they are continually moving over the
surface of the earth, and are carried by them to found new kingdoms and
communities. The royal mansion is then erected, as before described, their
wings fall off, and they pass the remainder of their existence in indolence
and luxury, and in the propagation of their species. Their dimensions now
undergo a monstrous change, more especially the queen; her abdomen augments
by degrees, and increases to a prodigious size, when compared with her two
first stages of existence; and the king, although greatly augmented, yet is
diminutive compared to his enormous spouse, who sometimes exceeds three
inches in length. She is in this state extremely prolific, and the matrix
is almost perpetually yielding eggs, which are taken from her by her
attendants, and are carried into the adjoining nurseries.

The foregoing is a very imperfect delineation of this wonderful insect,
which requires the minutest description by an experienced and scientific
naturalist to illustrate clearly; and there are many secrets in the natural
history of this little animal that would amply reward his investigation
upon the different circumstances attending its existence.

Those that build in trees, or erect pyramids, have a strong resemblance to
each other, and pass through the same stages to the winged state, but they
are not of so large a size as the foregoing; and it is a very singular
circumstance, that of all these different species, neither the labourers
nor soldiers expose themselves to the open air, but travel in subterraneous
vaults, unless when they are obstructed and impelled by necessity; and when
their