THE HABITS OF CALIFORNIA TERMITES. 5/ 



arises as a result of what appears to be the third molt, and after 

 three succeeding ecdyses it becomes a perfectly formed soldier. 

 The latter , in long-established communities, is about 18 mm. in 

 length and possesses 22 antennal segments, while the one first 

 developed is but 10 mm. in length and has 18 or 19 segments. 

 Upwards of three months later another immature soldier appears 

 larger than the first and evidently formed as a result of more 

 than three molts. More than three are also apparently required 

 to give it the adult length of I 2 mm. and usually 19 or 20 antennal 

 segments. The new arrival, after the mandibles have become 

 sufficiently chitinized, usually asserts its superiority by putting an 

 end to the first. Other soldiers appear upon the scene from time 

 to time, generally a little larger and occasionally with more an- 

 tennal joints. Finally an equilibrium is established in this re- 

 spect, but not until the colony has been established for a year at 

 least. 



The first workers also undergo their final molt at an early 

 stage and, as with the soldier, those which appear later assume 

 larger proportions until, finally, at the end of nearly two years, 

 a limit is reached with some of the members which have attained 

 a length of approximately 14 mm. 



So far as I have seen nymphs do not occur until after the first 

 year, in other words the first swarm of perfect insects leaves the 

 nest at the end of the second year. They also are relatively 

 small. 



The life of all these first inhabitants is comparatively short. 

 The king and queen early draft them into service, but when their 

 place may be taken by other and more powerful individuals they 

 disappear. In some cases they are undoubtedly dispatched, but 

 it is by no means certain that this is always the case. After the 

 colony is fully established soldiers and workers live at least two 

 years and probably longer, though of this I cannot be positive. 

 Regarding the king and queen it is certain that they live together 

 for at least two years in the case of Tennopsis. In three of the 

 largest two-year-old colonies in my possession there are in the 

 neighborhood of 200 individuals, while in some colonies headed 

 by the royal pair I have found more than 1,000. From such 

 nests many perfect insects have swarmed, and it is reasonable to 



