OBSERVATIONS ON SOMK SOUTH AFRICAN TERMITES, 357 



December, 1914, by Mr. F. Jansen, the Resident Magistrate. 

 These Avere found issuing from holes in the ground i7i the 

 streets and in the country surrounding the township. 



Specimens of soldiers and workers have been collected in 

 the Stellenbosch district by Mr. F. W. Petty, Lecturer in 

 Entomology at Elsenburg Agricultural College, and by Mr. 

 C. P. van der Merwe, of the Division of Entomology. The 

 following observations have been communicated by these 

 colleagues. 



(a) C. P. van der Merwe. " Insects collected May lotb, 1914, in pine 

 forest at StellenLoscli. These termites were observed to collect pine- 

 needles into heaiDS varying from 1 to 3 ft. in diameter and from 6 to 

 18 in. in height, a few being quite 2h ft. high. The small heaps con- 

 sisted only of whole pine-needles, and a fungus was growing through 

 the heaps. The large heaps consisted of finely cut-vip needles and 

 numerous earthy pellets like fine seeds. 



" The small heaps have a tube of earth running down the middle 

 into the soil. In the large heaps there are more than one of these 

 tubes, but they appear to run from the surface directly into the ground. 

 Pieces of cut-up needles were found in the burrows.'" 



(b) F. W. Petty. "The specimens sent were collected from two types 

 of mounds, of which I send you sketches (PI. XXYI, figs. 6, 6«, 6h,. 

 and 7) in the barley and oat fields. These mounds are about 2A in.- 

 high or less. They are made of small, loose. Ijlack pellets brought up 

 from below ground, and the mound has a firm, hard core running up 

 through the middle of it. This core never runs up straight, and often 

 branches into two tubes, one being always shorter than the other. These 

 tubes or cores are not made up of the black pellets, but consist of ordinary 

 soil, and have the inner lining smooth and hard. Evidently the pellets 

 are brought out of the opening, and, as they pile up, the tube is 

 lengthened. The insects also make small mounds of gathered bits of 

 grain, leaves, weeds, etc., the particles of vegetation being from ^ in. 

 to 3 in. in length. These collections of vegetable matter are simply 

 grouped about a hole in the form of a low mound no more than 1 in. 

 in height. I also found liurrows which have been closed over by a 

 hard roof of earth, forming an irregular low chamlier into which the 

 bm-row opened. Surrounding the outside of the roof of this chamber 

 were pieces of vegetable matter (PI. XXVI, fig. 7). 



"A striking fact which. I noticed in the grain fields where these 

 termites were doing much damage was that many colonies, or rather 

 the termites of many exit holes, were dead, and usually the head had 



