REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I908 



57 



mounted and unmounted, newspaper files and other material. The 

 white ants fairly riddled the blocks upon which the electrotypes 

 were mounted and ran galleries through files of back publications, 

 thus causing heavy losses. 



These insects can be easily recognized as white, wingless, ant- 

 like forms. They are only seen, as a rule, when material in which 

 they are boring has been disturbed as in the above mentioned 



Fig. ig Termes flavipes:a, queen: b, young of winged female; 

 c, worker; d, soldier, all enlarged. (After Marlatt, U. S. Dep't Agric. 

 Div. Ent. Bal. 4. n. s. 1896) 



instance. This form remains active throughout the year in build- 

 ings that are kept warm during the winter. The ants excavate 

 numerous irregular galleries through wood, paper and almost any 

 material except stone or metal. They are communistic in habit and 

 with a social organization similar to that of the honey bee. The only 

 satisfactory method of preventing injury in vaults and similar 

 places is first to thoroughly clean the infested chamber or chambers 



V 



