118 ERNEST WARREN. 



exclusively, ainong-st species which are fungus-growers that 

 such schemes of ventilation occur. 



The nest proper is situated at the base of the mound. 

 Wide passages lead from the nest into the surrounding ground 

 and extend to a depth of 1-6 ft. below the surface. The 

 passages may be 3-4 in. in diameter ; the vertical diameter is 

 generally greater than the horizontal. There may Ije as 

 many as 100 of these passages radiating from the nest ; they 

 branch and inter-communicate. 



The nest is dome-shaped and is occupied by the queen-cell 

 and a frame-work of clay supporting large thick- walled 

 fungus-beds. The queen-cell is a large, heavy mass not 

 clearly defined from the surrounding clayey frame-work ; the 

 cavity is lenticular with flat floor and arched roof; it contains 

 only one queen and king. Occasionally the holes of entrance 

 are large enough for the king to escape from when the nesf 

 is opened. 



The fuiio-us-beds occupy the rest of the nest, and very few 

 of them extend upwards into the mound or downwards into 

 the surrounding soil. There is no vacant space at the to]) of 

 the dome-shaped nest as Smeathman described in Termes 

 b e 1 1 i c o s u s . 



Occasionally a small quantity of dry vegetable matter may 

 be found in a nest, collected for immediate use. Fungus- 

 growing species of termites have not been observed cutting 

 o-rass • although it is possible that they do so at night to a 

 small extent, but not sufficiently to leave traces of their work. 



The nymphs are very plentiful in July, and become winged 

 in September and October. The images fly in November 

 after rain in the dusk of the evening, and as is usual in such 

 cases the c-hitin is testaceous and less dark than in images of 

 species which issue in the day-time. 



In the Natal species, Termes natal en sis, incertus, and 

 trinervius, the images have brown chitin and they do not 

 issue until after sunset; while in the species T. vulgaris 

 latericius, parvus and bilobatus the images have dark- 

 coloured chitin, and they issue before sunset. 



