THE PHYLOGENY OF THE TERMITES. 35 



membrane, which Riley himself interprets as a vestigial oothecal 

 envelope, encloses at least the posterior half of the eggs. Now 

 this egg-mass, which is obviously only a slightly modified ootheca, 

 is, according to Riley's statement, enclosed, not in the reproduc- 

 tive organs proper or body cavity of the mother insect, but in 

 the oothecal chamber. But this chamber, which also embraces 

 at least one end of the ootheca in other Blattida;, is morpholog- 

 ically outside of the body. Hence there can be no viviparity or 

 even ovoviviparity in this case. Panchlora simply retains the 

 ootheca completely within the oothecal chamber till the young 

 are ready to hatch. 1 This Blattid therefore represents a further 

 stage in the care of the brood than is to be found in our domes- 

 tic cockroaches. 2 



A more advanced, though still very crude, stage of social or- 

 ganization seems to be represented in certain BlattidK like the 

 singular North American Dasyposoma (Cryptoccrcus] punctulata 

 Scudder ('62, pp. 419-421). This insect, which has been re- 

 corded from Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New 

 York, appears to be a very primitive form. v. Wattenwyl 

 ('93), Scudder ('97, pp. 13, 15) and de Saussure ('95^) regard it 

 as belonging to the subfamily Panesthinae, a group comprising a 

 number of Australian and Oriental species. 3 Comparison of a 

 fine series of this insect collected by Mr. Wm. Beutenmuller in 

 the mountains of North Carolina, with a series of the Australian 

 PanestJiia cribrata Saussure in the Edwards Collection of the 

 American Museum of Natural History shows many striking re- 

 semblances in shape, color, punctulation, etc. Both sexes of 



1 This interpretation of Riley's work is confirmed by an examination of two dried 

 female specimens of Panchlora viridis in the collections of the American Museum of 

 Natural History. Each showed a shrivelled ootheca in the oothecal chamber. On 

 dissecting one of the specimens I found the ootheca to be of large size and bent in the 

 form of a C, with its two ends almost meeting. It contained seventy-two embryos 

 arranged in two series as in the common cockroaches. 



2 Among primitive insects the Forficulidre, or earwigs, have long been known 

 to care for their eggs, collecting them when dispersed and, according to some ob- 

 servers, even carrying them to places of more favorable temperature and moisture. 

 Similar habits must be very ancient among the air-breathing arthropods as we find 

 them well developed in certain Myriopods (Geophilus], which not only brood over 

 their eggs but guard their young after hatching. 



3 De Saussure und Zehntner ('95^) however, include Cryp/ocerats in another 

 primitive subfamily, the Perisphreriinse. 



