19,1 Light: Notes on Philippine Termites, II 47 
So far this species has been collected only in Manila and only 
a few times here. Adults of this species were collected by me 
(No. 15) in June, 1920, with numerous dried insects in a hang- 
ing lamp shade at my former house in Ermita, Manila. I had 
noted the appearance of this form on June 12, which points to a 
protracted or irregular swarming on the part of this species. 
The second collection was, as noted above, by Prof. José I. del 
Rosario from boards in his house, with C. cynocephalus; the third 
by me from boards and moulding of a case for birds’ eggs hanging 
on a cement wall in the laboratory. The fact that no other 
species of the genus has been found in boards in Manila leads to 
the belief that it is the common species, at least in this locality.’ 
P. nocens, like C. cynocephalus, forms small colonies, eating the 
dry wood, without any direct connection with the ground or any 
external source of moisture. Most of the specimens described 
were found living in the wood of a box containing an exhibit of 
birds’ eggs. The box had been hanging on a cement wall sur- 
face in the laboratory for several years without being in contact 
with any other wood. The assistant who hung the box tells 
me that there were signs of termite work when it was hung. 
This would seem to imply that the colony found had been in 
the wood for some years. Since there were less than a hun- 
dred specimens collected, of which but two were soldiers, 
Wwe can get some idea of how slowly such colonies develop. 
Since, also, the wood was by no means all destroyed we can. 
get an idea of how slowly they work (see photographs of work, 
Plates 5 and 6). Since writing the above an examination of 
a part of this colony (March, 1921) shows that many of the 
“workers” as well as the white nymphs are developing wing 
pads. One soldier and numerous workers were found in boards 
of the house of Prof. José I. del Rosario, where in association 
with Cryptotermes cynocephalus they were attacking only the 
boards of white lauan (Anisoptera thurifera Blume), a com- 
paratively soft wood, and avoiding the harder molave and ipil, 
which are nearly termite proof. 
*Since writing the above a very distinct species has been taken in 
Manila, one of the five species yet to be described which were mentioned 
above. However, winged adults of P. nocens have been found commonly 
about the lights during June and July, and adults of the other species have 
not, and there seems no reason therefore to change our belief that P. nocens 
is by far the commonest house termite of this locality as other closely 
related species of the same genus seem to be in Cebu and Negros. 
