ENTOMOLOGY. 69 



This is a translation by W. H. F. Blanford of Grassi's Italian memoir on the consti- 

 tution and development of termite societies. The memoir is the result of a long 

 series of observations on Calotermes and Terines. It is concluded that all the species 

 of Termitidae belong to one of two main types of colonies, which are: 



(1) A colony over which a king and qneen preside. The king and queen once 

 possessed two fully developed wings. When a colony is orphaned a pair of royal 

 substitutes or neotinic forms are chosen. 



(2) A colony with numerous neotinic queens and with neotinic tings, which are 

 present for only short periods. This type of colony is not founded by the royal forms 

 that govern it, but by detached portions of a preexisting colony. 



Many fully winged insects leave the nests of these termites every year. Some of 

 those of < 'alotermes fiavicolus found new colonies, but under ordinary conditions those 

 of Termes lucifugus are not able to do so, at least in .Sicily. The males and females 

 swarm separately, and consequently consanguinous mating is scarcely possible. 

 After settling on decayed trees, the winged Calotermes get rid of their wings and 

 begin to burrow; the sexes pair and each pair founds a fresh colony. Communica- 

 tion between the insects in both genera is by jerking convulsions of the whole body 

 which produce sounds which seem to be heard by the insects, and members of the 

 same nest recognize each other. 



The Termitidse live on triturated, dead, or decayed wood particles mixed with 

 saliva disgorged by their fellows, and their excrement. A colony of soldiers which 

 can not gnaw wood soon dies of starvation, but a single large larva which is con- 

 stantly burrowing can keep 8 or 10 soldiers alive on its excrement. Dead, diseased, 

 or even healthy but superlluous individuals of the sanies species and the salivary 

 secretions arc also eaten. Water is sometimes imbibed, but not habitually. 



By varying the quantity and proportion of nutriment the insects vary the forms 

 in the colony, obtaining workers, soldiers, anil neotinic forms. The neotinic forms 

 are produced by the administration of large quantities of saliva, which gets rid of 

 parasitic protozoa found within the alimentary canal. Newly hatched larvae receive 

 nothing but saliva, while those destined to become workers or soldiers receive little 

 or none. 



Termex lucifugus often migrate from one tree to another, carrying eggs and young. 

 Thus it sometimes happens that communication with the male colony is lost and 

 they are compelled to form new colonies. In Calotermes strangers of the same 

 species are received into the nest. If the colony is orphaned, even a royal pair may be 

 so received. Jealousy among royal forms is less noticeable than in the case of bees. 



Some notes on the parasites of Orgyia leucostigma, L. O. Howard (Proc.Ent. 

 Soc. Washington, 4, No. 2, pp. 60-63). — In the discussion that followed the reading 

 of this paper, an abstract only of which is given, B. E. Fernow mentioned 

 that twenty years ago on the island of Ruegen in the Baltic Sea an outbreak of 

 Orgyia pudibunda occurred, during which the Government expended large sums in an 

 endeavor to destroy the pest. During the progress of this work it was noticed that 

 large numbers of parasites were issuing from the cocoons. Thereupon the work of 

 destruction was stopped and the parasites given an opportunity to finish their 

 work. The result was that next year they had practically exterminated the moth. 

 Thus a large amount of money was saved. 



W. T. Swingle referred to a case that came to his notice in Florida in which 

 spraying with Bordeaux mixture resulted in killing a. fungus parasite of the orange 

 scale, in consequence of which the scale increased enormously. 



W. B. Alwood noted that at Richmond, Virginia, an outbreak of Goes pulverulenta 

 on the elm caused losses amouuting to from $15,000 to $20,000. 



Reports on the results and the cost of liming against the nonne in the 

 Olbersdorf portion of the State Forest Reserve of Augustusburg, Thielemann 

 (Tharand. Forst. Jahrb., 47 (1897), No. 2, pp. 247-253).— The cost of labor is placed at 

 2 marks (57.6 cts.) for men, 1.08 marks (35.7 cts.) for women, and 60 pfennigs (14.3 

 cts.) for children. The entire cost of liming 9.32 hectares amounted to 325.01 



