THE ABILITY OF TERMITES TO LIVE PERHAPS IN- 

 DEFINITELY ON A DIET OF PURE CELLULOSE. 



L. R. CLEVELAND. 



It seems quite certain from the work that has been done that 

 the number of animals capable of using cellulose, along with 

 other in.itcri.il, to any considerable extent is quite small indeed. 

 This question, however, has been crucially investigated in few, 

 if .my. instances. For example, we are told that the goat can 

 utili/e a fairly hi'Ji percentage of the cellulose content of its 

 diet; the cow and the horse a smaller percentage; and man so 

 small a quantity that it need not be considered. In most of 

 ( -.;( i iments which have been done on these animals, no 

 distinction whatever was made between cellulose and hemi- 

 cellulose, and the latter, which is perhaps more ea-ilv digested, 

 was certainly present in a far greater quantity. In brief, 

 we do not know whether cellulose can be used at .til or not. 

 The general belief is that it cannot, except perhaps in the case 

 of some xylophagous insects. But the ability of these insects 

 to utilixe cellulose has been little investigated. Certainly, no 

 animal insect or what not has been shown to be able to live 

 on it. In the present paper the ability of an insect to maintain 

 it -elf on a cellulose diet for twelve months and longer is demon- 

 strated beyond question. 



Mo-t termites in nature feed solely on wood, \\hich i- alwa 

 as much .is 50 per cent, cellulose. This, then, coupled with the 

 fact that the\ may be easily collected in great abundance and 

 kept in the laboratory indefinitely, makes them ideal for the 

 study of cellulose digestion. 



Several thousand termites from two genera, Termopsis Heer 

 and Rcliiulitcrtn, M-lmgren, were collected. 7V/-/^/;.s/v is the 

 lar; v e 1'aciiic Coa.-t termite and is found in abundance in dead 

 logs and stumps in California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico 

 and Arizona. Rctiiulitermes is a smaller form, with main species, 



1 Fellow (in the Biological Sciences) of the National Research Council, working 

 at the Department of Medical Zoology. School of Hygiene and Public Health. 

 Johns Hopkins University. Baltimore, Maryland. 



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