20O L. R. CLEVELAND. 



flavipes was not killed directly by incubation was very much 

 augmented. Then, some cause other than the effect of the in- 

 creased temperature on the cells of the termite might be expected 

 to be responsible for the termite's death. But Nasutitermes 

 morio could not be kept in closed jars for a longer period than 

 5-10 days before death occured, regardless of whether they had 

 been incubated or not. Amitermes sp. from Uvalde, Texas, 

 another genus of the Termitidae, was obtained, but it also could 

 not be kept in closed jars. Other genera of the Termitidae, 

 termites not harboring protozoa in nature so far as known, which 

 might possibly be kept in closed jars though nothing at all is 

 known regarding this were not obtainable. It then became 

 necessary to answer in another way the question, does the heating 

 kill the termite directly? 



An effort was made to keep the incubated and defaunated 

 termites alive by feeding them substances other than wood, their 

 normal diet. Dextrose, peptone and starch, separately and 

 altogether, were fed them; and it was evident, from the results 

 (see Table III.) obtained by the feeding of these substances, 

 particularly dextrose, that the lives of the incubated and de- 

 faunated termites had been prolonged. 



But before these experiments had progressed very far a much 

 better method of prolonging the lives of the defaunated termites 

 was discovered, and no more experiments employing dextrose, 

 starch and peptone were carried out. They were placed in glass 

 jars and were fed a diet of fresh humus, which seemed to be a 

 very satisfactory food, as the results tabulated in Table III. 

 show. When they were given humus before any of the charac- 

 teristic symptoms of wood-fed defaunated termites had appeared, 

 no such symptoms ever appeared. If these symptoms had ap- 

 peared before humus was fed, the termites after being fed humus 

 for three or four days became much more active, and within six 

 to seven days they were normal again. Even when all the indi- 

 viduals in a jar of defaunated termites were almost dead, due to 

 being fed on wood, many of the almost lifeless ones could be 

 brought back to normal by feeding them humus. The humus fed 

 defaunated termites appeared to be perfectly normal in every 

 way long after all of their wood fed defaunated controls were 

 dead. One hundred jars of defaunated termites were used in the 



