Social Insects. 71 



a more or less conspicuous loose nest by massing together the exuviae of 

 the Aphides and portions of dead leaves, generally around some twig or 

 branch. (See Practical Entomologist, Vol. II, No. 3, Dec. 1866, p. 41.) In 

 this case the object is doubtless to prevent the robbing of the coveted sweets 

 by other nectar loving species ; while the more elaborate nests of the tropics 

 are for self protection and social economy, the nearest approach to these in 

 N. A. being made by a Florida ant (Cremastogaster Ixviuscula Mayr) which 

 makes large brown chambered nests in long grass, recalling somewhat in 

 color and character those of Entermes. 



NOTE 6. Termite Economy. 



TRUE ROYAL PAIRS. There are many recondite phenomena con 

 nected with the life-history of the Termites that yet remain unexplained. 

 But all the species annually produce large numbers of male and female 

 adults, i. e., winged individuals which are capable, normally, of reproducing. 

 These are recognizable after the first moult by the larger thoracic segments, 

 which bear the first indication of wing-pads. Daring flight or swarming, 

 and the subsequent walks on the ground, no real union of the sexes has so 

 far been observed. In fact the reproductive organs are at this period not 

 fully developed, and it is not until a pair have succeeded in establishing 

 themselves amid a certain number of Avorkers that the sexual organs be 

 come functional. The wings are thrown off and at this stage these indi 

 viduals are knoAvn as true royal pairs, the wing stumps showing in con 

 tradistinction to the wing-pads of the larva and pupa, while their darker 

 color otherwise distinguishes them. They are long-lived, coition taking place 

 repeatedly. The male increases but little in size, but the abdomen of 

 the female increases enormously with increasing fecundity. 



SUPPLEMENTARY KINGS AND QUEENS. The absence of a true royal pair 

 by no means impairs the vitality and prosperity of a Termite colony; for a 

 certain number of individuals are met Avith which, in the absence of the 

 true queen may become sexually mature, the female laying fertile eggs, 

 from which, in due course of time, all the forms composing the colony are 

 developed. The true nature of these secondary or supplemantary males 

 and females Avas first fully recognized by Fritz Miiller, and their develop 

 ment is explained as follows : 



At first indistinguishable from the larvoe of individuals which produce 

 winged specimens, they are, in the nymph or pupa state, thicker and 

 clumsier. The internal sexual organs are more strongly developed, and 

 they have short Aving-pacls placed sideAA'ays instead of long and broad Aving- 

 pads as in the nymphs Avhich produce the true kings and queens. In short, 

 they undergo one moult less, and, as a consequence, do not acquire A\ T ings or 

 swarm. They acquire sexual maturity later in the season than the winged 

 individuals, from AA'hich they are ahA'ays distinguished in maturity by the 

 possession of wing-pads instead of the Aving stumps. They are also lighter 

 in color, the males having smaller eyes, and the females a broader thorax, 

 Avhereas in the true royal individuals there is no difference in this respect. 

 They are not as long-lived, either, as the royal pair, the males dying within 

 a few months and the females probably not sur\ T iving more than a year. 



It will be seen from the above stated facts that if through the death of a 

 queen, or in the absence of a queen, a colony has not been able to secure 

 another royal pair from the swarming individuals "nymph-like males and 

 females, safely kept m the nest " step in as substitutes and save the colony 

 from becoming extinct. Furthermore it has been observed that if, in very 

 small and fragmentary colonies, the supplementary males and females 

 should be absent, the colony may yet be perpetuated by the substitution of 

 larva-like males and females, which have been called complementary kings 

 and queens. 



A remarkable observation made by Fritz Muller deserves mention here. 

 He found in a Eutermes colony, in the passages of what appeared at first to 

 be a true royal cell, not less than 31 supplementary females and among 



