The Raid on the Termites

In Short

In The Raid on the Termites, entomologist Dennis Braymer and his adventurous friend Jim Holden undergo a radical shrinking procedure to explore a giant termite mound from the inside. Once underground, they find themselves in a nightmarish world governed by a ruthless subterranean hierarchy. To survive, the two men must navigate labyrinthine tunnels, dodge colossal worker and soldier insects, and outwit a grotesque, hyper-intelligent ruling brain. Paul Ernst’s pulp science fiction tale captures the timeless thrill of human vulnerability in an alien micro-realm, blending biological detail with pure adventure.

The Story

The narrative begins with entomologist Dennis Braymer attempting to study a local termitary. Frustrated by the insects' impenetrable cement-like walls, secret habits, and destructive nature, Dennis confesses to his visiting friend, the bored adventurer Jim Holden, that he would give years of his life to shrink down and explore the inner workings of a mound.

Their opportunity arrives unexpectedly through their friend Matthew Breen, an inventor who has developed a ray utilizing "element eighty-five" that reduces the physical stature of living organisms. After Matt successfully demonstrates the device on a hound, Dennis and Jim volunteer to undergo the procedure. Stripped and armed only with crude steel bars—which become heavy spears at their reduced size—and smeared with repulsive termite-paste to mask their human scent, the pair are shrunk to just a quarter of an inch in height.

Stepping out onto a floor whose grain now resembles a frozen badland of ridges and chasms, they journey through the grass blades toward the base of the mound. Along the way, everyday creatures become terrifying leviathans: a passing earthworm looms like a crimson serpent, while grasshoppers and bees threaten to crush or devour them.

Entering the dark tunnels of the termitary, they witness a society of monstrous, blind creatures operating under total, mechanical coordination. As they descend deeper into the sweltering subterranean city, they pass vast nurseries filled with pumpkin-sized larvae and tunnel through swarming corridors guarded by massive soldier termites equipped with razor-sharp mandibles and chemical weapons.

Eventually, the two explorers are herded by blind soldier guards into the lowest, hottest level of the mound. There, they discover the secret of the colony's central coordination: the "ruling brain," a flabby, bloated, highly evolved super-insect supported on the backs of worker termites. This master brain commands the mound via telepathic waves and uses a powerful red acid to digest its food.

Captured and facing execution, Jim and Denny launch a desperate battle against the monarch's armored retinue. By hurling a steel spear into a soldier's chemical reservoir, they provoke a blind frenzy, causing the wounded giant to rampage through the room. When the monarch is rendered helpless, the cannibalistic soldier army turns on their own leader, tearing it to pieces.

Capitalizing on the chaos, Dennis and Jim flee through the upper levels. After a final, harrowing confrontation in the chamber of the gargantuan Queen termite, where Dennis distracts a guard by feeding it a dead worker's body, the men break out of the mound. Returned to normal height by Matt’s machine, they elect to publish their unbelievable story as fiction first, ensuring the world learns of the terrors buried right beneath their feet.

How It Unfolds

The shrink ray test Dennis and Jim visit the laboratory of inventor Matthew Breen, who demonstrates a new ray that shrinks living creatures under a glass bell. Eager to solve the mysteries of insect life, Dennis convinces Jim to join him as the first human test subjects.

Entering the wilderness Reduced to a quarter-inch in height and armed with steel needles for spears, the two men traverse a terrifying environment where blades of grass are like forest trees and simple earthworms appear as giant crimson monsters. They find a hidden entrance and slip into the subterranean darkness of the mound.

Witnessing the siege Inside the termitary's main avenues, the explorers observe an invading force of ants clashing with massive termite soldiers. Dennis realizes the blind termite army is being directed by a mysterious central intelligence deeper within the earth.

Trapped in the nursery Descending further into the oppressive heat of the mound, the men stumble into a colossal dome containing thousands of pumpkin-sized larvae. Giant soldier insects with scissor-like jaws seal off the exits, herding the pair toward the bottom levels.

The monarch revealed In the lowest cavern, Dennis and Jim meet the colony's ruling brain: a monstrous, gray-white mushroom growth carried by worker insects. The entity uses telepathy to command its troops and tests strong digestive acids on the men's steel weapons.

Battle in the lair Facing death, Jim and Dennis attack the guards, using a thrown spear to puncture a soldier's fluid reservoir. The wounded guard goes berserk, triggering a frantic cannibalistic riot as the soldiers turn on and devour their own helpless ruler.

Escape from the Queen Taking advantage of the turmoil, the men navigate back to the Queen's chamber, where they sacrifice a dead worker to bypass a massive guard. They escape to the outside world and return to Matt's laboratory to be restored to human size.

The People

• Dennis Braymer: A passionate, lean, and tanned entomologist driven by an obsessive desire to uncover the secrets of the termite world. He views the insects as a deadly mystery and willingly risks his life for scientific observation, emerging from the adventure physically marked by a tumorous knob where his finger failed to regrow properly.
• Jim Holden: A muscular, broad-shouldered adventurer and college friend of Dennis who seeks excitement to relieve his boredom. Pragmatic and physically formidable, he relies on his strength and rapid tactical thinking to protect Dennis, ultimately devising the combat maneuvers that allow them to survive the subterranean horrors.
• Matthew Breen: An abstract, highly concentrated inventor who becomes completely absorbed in his experiments with "element eighty-five." Although detached from everyday human interactions, his revolutionary ray and glass bell apparatus make the entire shrink-expedition possible.

In Its Own Voice

Inside the enigmatic thing was another world. A dark world, mysterious, horrible, peopled by blind and terrible demons--a world like a Dante's dream of a second Inferno.

This vivid opening reflection captures Dennis Braymer's intense, gothic foreboding as he gazes at the ordinary-looking soil mound before attempting to cut into its hardened shell.

"A trip to Mars wouldn't be in it. The nightmare monsters you would see, the hideous creations, the cannibalism, the horrible but efficient slave system carried on by these blind, intelligent things in the dark depths of the subterranean cells!"

Dennis delivers this prophetic warning to Jim while trying to explain the sheer scale of danger and bizarre biology hidden within the underground colony.

"I suppose," groaned Jim, "that our turn is next. The thing will probably have us dipped into the red stuff, to see if we're consumed, too."

Jim mutters this grim comment while trapped in the inner lair, watching the monstrous ruling brain use powerful digestive acid to dissolve inorganic metal and prey alike.

What It's Really About

Beneath its pulp-action exterior, the narrative explores the terrifying fragility of human dominance when confronted by the sheer efficiency of nature. By reducing its protagonists to the bottom of the food chain, the book strips away human technological superiority, pitting brute muscle and tactical reasoning against a cold, collective intelligence. The termitary functions as an uncanny nightmare of total authoritarianism: a blind, cannibalistic society where individual lives are mere expendable units governed by a central, telepathic brain. It asks whether human intellect and individuality can prevail against absolute, unyielding biological specialization.

Why Read It Today

The Raid on the Termites is a fast-paced classic of early 20th-century American pulp science fiction. Readers who enjoy classic creature features, micro-world explorations like The Incredible Shrinking Man, or survival stories against overwhelming odds will find it a thrilling, nostalgic read.

The novella's greatest strength lies in its sensory immersion and scale shifting. Ernst writes with punchy momentum, making every blade of grass, drops of acid, and snapping mandible feel physically threatening. The combat scenes are inventive, leveraging the realistic physics of a miniaturized world.

Potential readers should be prepared for the specific conventions of 1930s magazine fiction, including melodramatic dialogue, rapid plot progression, and occasionally convenient pseudoscience regarding rays and biology. However, these period elements add to its vintage charm rather than drag down the narrative. It remains an entertaining, quick-paced adventure that will make you look twice at the next ordinary ant hill you pass.