gO Philippine Journal of Science in* 



which has probably been made firm and sticky by admixture 

 with certain substances from the bodies of the termites. Mounds 

 over which a large heap of grass or sticks had been burnt 

 were, on opening, observed to have all their inhabitants, includ- 

 ing the delicate nymphs and the eggs, absolutely unaffected by 

 the heat. 



Beneath the thick outer crust of clay are the "fungus gardens," 

 composed entirely of a mixture of fine pellets of woody excreta 

 and plasterlike material, which have passed out of the alimen- 

 tary canals of the workers. In a typical anay mound these 

 gardens occupy the greater part of the inner cavity; compact 

 slabs of moist clay, with numerous irregular passageways run- 

 ing through them, form the partitions and, at the same time, 

 the supports of the gardens. Each garden is composed of nu- 

 merous vertical galleries formed by the intersection of the walls ; 

 the general appearance is that of a sea coral, with the upper 

 convex margin of each partition neatly finished and the lower 

 part either unfinished or made rugged by being bitten off. 

 As the name indicates, the termites utilize the gardens in the 

 cultivation of certain species of fungi, or mushrooms, to be 

 more specific. They regularly harvest the "buttons" of the 

 fungi, as soon as they appear, for use as food. At certain 

 seasons of the year, during the rainy months, the mushrooms 

 break through the outer wall of the nest and develop into full- 

 grown plants. These mushrooms are a common sight in the 

 regions about Los Banos on the mounds, or on the surface over 

 underground anay nests; and they are much relished as an 

 article of food by everybody who eats them. The local farmers 

 know them under the general name of mamunso.* 



Several theories have been proposed in connection with the 

 periodical appearances of this mushroom. One explanation is 

 that on the advent of a more favorable season, the fungi in the 

 termites' gardens become so numerous that a certain number 

 find a chance to escape and develop into perfect mushrooms 

 before the workers have a chance to harvest the "buttons." 

 Another is that the termites purposely allow the mushrooms to 

 develop into mature plants in order to furnish seed for the 

 following season. The galleries of the fungus gardens and the 

 network of tunnels in the intervening slabs of clay also serve 

 as nurseries, where the eggs and the young nymphs are taken 

 care of. An upright, irregularly shaped pillar of clay, which 

 forms the core of the nest, serves the double purpose of sup- 



4 Of or pertaining to the mound (Tagalog). 



