Peggy Ann Chapel, aged 10, of Ontario, Oregon‑for her question:

How does a termite use all the wood he eats?

A  colony of termites can play two roles in our world, Out in the woods it tidies up old timber. In a building it destroys beams and wooden supports. For the little termites that live in the colony devour dry wood, They are heroes or villains to us depending on whether they tidy up the forests or rufin our buildings,

A diet of dried wood seems strange to us. For wood is made mostly of cellulose, which is impossible to digest. Strange to say, it is also impossible for the little termite to digest. He needs help. And he carries along small partners to help him out. The small partners are one‑celled creatures called protozoa. They live in the termites intestines,

These little fellows pay for their board by turning the dried wood eaten by the termite into sugar. The sugar becomes the food of the termite. Without his little digestion partners, the termite would die of starvation, even if he ate a whole building. The little, boarders measure several hundred to the inch. Under the microscope they look like miniature boxing gloves ‑ with tails. The scientific  name for this particular protozoan is trichonympha camnenula.