THE WHITE ANT.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 11936, 25 March 1914, Page 4

THE WHITE ANT.

Settlers in New Zealand have a. good deal to contend with in the way of pests, but they have reason to be thankful that the white ant is not among the number. The three greatest pests in the Northern Territory are said to be ■ffh.e white'ant —which sometimes grows to the size of a bee—the marsh Jly, and the great Darwin mosquito Each of these insects holds a record in his particular line, but as a champion in the way of destructive industry the ant must be awarded the palm. According to the story told to a, Sydney Daily Telegraph representative by Mr \V. \i. Hayes, a surveyor in tin; Territory, the white ant is bent on exterminating everything in the district except himself. He is no daylight worker, but toils incessantly in the dark. He has attacked the forests of the jila.ee, and the iron-wood which will gap an axe yields to the insidious power and the, neverending industry of this ■ insatiable insect. The result, is that there are acres of forest with trees like empty shells, the inside having been cleaned right out. An entomologist is engaged searching for the white ants's natural enemy or some other means of combating it, but up to the jiresent the scientific investigations have been of no avail, and the ant jiursues his dark and relentless course, devouring everything between himself and daylight.