OBSERVATIONS ON TERMITES IN JAMAICA 227 



12. The soldiers do no mechanical work, except to move 

 themselves ; they appear first when the nest or arcade is dis- 

 turbed, they explore what is novel, lead the advance of proces- 

 sions, stand placed like guards along the sides of processions. 

 They respond to anything unusual rather by exploratory advances 

 than by retreat; being the quicker moving and more responsive 

 members of the community. They form the " investigator " 

 rather than the soldier caste. Yet they fight, in a refined way, 

 by ejection of a secretion that binds the enemy fast. 



13. Termites wander about in the night and find new food- 

 supplies outside the protecting arcade. Processions are formed 

 which may ultimately be covered over by arcades. In running 

 after one another the termites keep the trail as if guided by 

 chemical substances left by the others which passed before. 

 But they also show an ability to continue on in the right direc- 

 tion even after detours when the trail has been destroyed. 



14. There is evidence that these termites are affected by con- 

 cussions of the air, leading them to retreat to the nest after 

 thunder, etc. 



16. They showed response to light by collecting where the light 

 was least. Under colored glass of greatly different wave lengths 

 they collected under the shortest, that is, "preferred" red to blue. 



17. The interesting observations of Beaumont on the reactions 

 of termites to alien termites are here verified to a large extent. 



18. The young, up to certain development, are immune to 

 attack, but the adults are attacked by all adults of any other 

 community (but perfect males and females were not actually 

 seen to attack, though they are attacked). 



ig. Individuals as well as communities differ in degrees of 

 aggressiveness and this is not equally called out by all other 

 individuals or communities. 



20. Soldiers generally call out fighting response more intensely 

 than workers do. 



21. In extreme cases two workers isolated from two com- 

 munities may be pitted hke fighting cocks, each responding to 

 contact with the other by use of the mandibles that leads to 

 quick death of one or the other or of both combatants. 



22. Soldiers respond to aliens by ejecting clear and apparently 

 harmless liquid from the frontal gland, but it adheres to the 

 alien and binds him fast. 



