4 1 n PETOH : 



twcittv feet of a liollow , thirty feet long, in an almost vertical 

 stem. The bottom of the cavitj', about ten feet below the 

 comb, was filled b}^ a compact cylinder, 50 cm. loi^g and 7 cm. 

 diameter, composed entirely of balls of lichen bound together 

 by white mycelium. Some of the strands of mycelium were 

 up to 2 nun. in diameter and bore v\hite tomcntose sclerotia 

 uj) to 12 mm. long and 8 mm. diameter. All these strands were 

 encrusted with irregular crystals of calcium oxalate. When 

 kept under suitable conditions, these developed a white Poria, 

 which may be a poria form of the common Polysticlus Persoonii. 

 But it is most probable that this mass represented an accunui- 

 lation of lichen balls which had been accidentally dropped 

 from the nest above, rather than an intentional store of food; 

 A few black fungus spores and fragments of black hypha^ 

 may sometimes Ix^ foimd in the material of the comi), but these 

 under certain conditions may be collected and oaten uuuiten- 

 tionally. In one instance the termites were observed collecting 

 lichen from the stems of bushes ^^•hich Mere covered with 

 " sooty mould," and under such circumstances the> could 

 scarcely fail to collect some of the latter. I have never fomid 

 traces of wood in the excrement ; but fragments of epidermis 

 of various plants, doubtless scraped off Mith the lichen, some- 

 times occur in it. Frequently the excrement contains large 

 nurnl)ers of cubic and acicular crystals. 



A Captive Nest. 



On January 24, 1910, a hollow stem, which contained a black 

 termites* nest, was cut dowji and conveyed to the neighbcMU'- 

 hood of the laboratory at Peradeniya. There it was cut opt^n 

 longitudinally, and the nest examined, the cond) being broken 

 up and the rpicen removed. This procedure necessarily 

 evicted all the workers and soldiers, and, as the nest was a 

 large one, myriads of them were left homeless. For .several 

 davH these wandered round the laboratory, taking sheltei 

 under the eaves, under tables on the verandah, the dooi'. 

 .steps, logs of wood, &c. ; they had sj)lit up into separate bands, 

 each consisting of thousands of workers and soldiers, a few of 

 which were carrying larva. The worker carries the larva ii^ 

 its nuuidibleK. I)ut the soldier (tarries it at the baek of its head. 



