INTESTINAL PROTOZOA OF TERMITES. l8l 



testinal bacteria or fungi, capable of digesting cellulose, which 

 are killed off during incubation? 



9. Do the protozoa aid their host mechanically to digest wood, 

 or do the protozoa digest the wood particles which they take 

 into their bodies and convert them into substances which their 

 host uses for food? 



10. Sin<v the termite- lose their ability to digest wood when 

 the protozoa arc removed from their intestine, that is when they 

 are <1< -faunaied. but regain this ability when reinfecu-d with 

 protozoa, .md -ince t lie protozoa themselves can be -hown t<> 

 di-e-i tin- \\ood particles which they take into their bodies, does 

 a true -\mliiotic relationship exist between termites and their 



inte-iinal proto/. 



MATERIAL. 



Ri .'/ nlili-rnn"i es Kollar, collected in Maryland, near 



Baltim 1 for all the experimental work on this genus, 



though main- colonies from other states have been u-ed for 

 -tnd\in^ tin- proio/oa of this species. Termopsis sp. (the species 

 nuild not ) di i t -i mined because there were no winded adults 

 in an\ of i lie (..lonies collected, but it is either a ngitsticollis II i. n 

 or ni--tn/i->: . II .'ii) from Ashland, Oregon, owinu t<> it- 1 

 H/e. \\.t- used in many of the feeding experiment-, though 

 R< :i(-ulitc> cs was also used in all of the feeding e\peri- 



nieni-. Kiitolcrmes schu'arsi Banks, K. jouteli Bank- and Pro- 

 rhinotfrnifs .v/w/>/r.v Hagen, from southern Florida, were used for 

 ineubation e\]iei iinents, but the material of these genera was not 

 -uffu ient in in. ike |>ossible as extensive a study as wa- i-arried out 

 \\itli the material from Maryland. Aniitermes sp., from I 'valde, 

 I :as, an.l .\,!Militertnes nwrio Latreille, from Port" Kii o, both 

 of the family Termitidio, were studied. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 



Manx thanks are due Drs. R. \Y. Hegner and \\'. 1 1. Taliaferro, 

 of the Pe]>artment of Medical Zo6log>', School of Hygiene .md 

 Public Health, Johns Hopkins Univer-ity, Bultinior. . M ryland, 

 for valuable -n^gestions and criticisms. I am al-o \ t -r\ deepl\- 

 indebteil to Dr. T. E. Snyder, Specialist in Fore-t Insects, Bureau 

 of Kntomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, 

 D. C., who identified all the termites studied and furnished all 

 the material except ReticnUtcrmcs flavipes and Nasutitennes morio. 



