328 Philippine Journal of Science isi» 



• Measurements of the soldier. 



mm. 



Length of body 4.50 



Length of head with mandibles 2.12 



Length of head without mandibles 1.40 



Width of head 1.12 



Width of pronotum 0.74 



Length of pronotum 0.47 



Worker. — Head yellow ; clypeus somewhat paler ; antennae and 

 legs straw-colored, thorax and abdomen whitish; head moder- 

 ately pilose; thorax and abdominal tergites densely provided 

 with minute hairs. 



Head spherical; antennae 17-jointed, third joint smallest, 

 second joint elongate, more than twice as long as third, fourth 

 joint slightly longer than third; postclypeus swollen, more than 

 twice as broad as long, anterior border concave; anteclypeus 

 whitish, anterior border convex; pronotum saddle-shaped, much 

 narrower than head, anterior border strongly elevated, indented 

 at middle, posterior border rounded, curved at middle. 



Measurements of the worker. 



mm. 



Length of body 3.50 



Width of head 1.31 



Width of pronotum 0.62 



Distribution. — Odontotermes formosanus is one of the com- 

 monest species in Formosa. It has been recorded from Ishiga- 

 kijima and South China (Amoy and Foochow). 



Remarks. — This species attacks living plants. It is a serious 

 pest to sugar cane and young camphor trees. 



CERTAIN HABITS OF COPTOTERMES FORMOSANUS SHIRAKI 



DIFFERENT CASTES IN THE COLONY 



Generally the members of a termite colony differ greatly at 

 different times of the year. Eggs and newly hatched larvae 

 of Coptotermes formosanus are most numerous in the summer ; 

 winged forms and nymphs are not present after the swarming 

 season (from the end of May to the beginning of June) ; nymphs 

 increase in number in the spring, becoming most abundant in 

 April; at the end of May the nymph changes to an imago and 

 usually swarms during the first ten days of June. A complete 

 colony contains the following castes: 



1. Newly hatched larvae. The heads of all are alike in dimensions and 



are provided with 10-jointed antennae. 



2. Larvae of soldier, derived from 1. Distinctly differs from the other 



castes in having somewhat elongate, toothless mandibles and sub- 

 orbicular head. 



