-1g.s Light: Notes on Philippine Termites, I 257 
Peninsula, should show the Philippine Archipelago to have one of 
the richest termite faunas of the world and one of the most inter- 
esting for the study of variation, distribution, and faunistic 
relations and their bearing on the problem of evolution. 
Of the thirty-three species of termites known from the Islands 
the adult is known for only twelve: Mr. McGregor, who collected 
much of Oshima’s material and who is at present aiding me in my 
collections, concurs with me in a feeling of admiration for the 
success of Haviland in procuring the adult forms of so many of 
the species which he describes. While we hope ultimately to 
achieve a similar success, it is rather discouraging to seek through 
a nest, piece by piece, only to find thousands of eggs and immature 
forms but no sign of adults. This has happened so many times 
with the forms which have nasute soldiers that we have come to 
the conclusion that the queen and king must be located in some 
subterranean chamber from which the eggs are transported to 
more exposed regions to pass through their development stages. 
This is but one example of the many gaps to be filled before our 
knowledge of Philippine termites is at all complete. Aside from 
its systematic interest, every one of the many Philippine species 
presents a fascinating problem, almost untouched, in ecology, 
social habits, and morphology, and several of them present eco- 
nomic problems of great importance. Any extensive work along 
such lines must, however, await a fuller knowledge of the system- 
atic position of our termite species. 
The next of this series of notes will present descriptions of 
several new species belonging to genera or subgenera not here 
tofore reported from the Philippines. 
