382 CLAUD l!] FULl-EW. 



The nest-cavity shown in PI. XXX, fi^. 1, is to be regarded 

 as the more noi-mal, being made in deeper soil, in which 

 stones and boulders offered no obstacles to the architects. 

 From the depth at Avhich the queen-cell was found it is 

 reasonable to assume that the original part of this nest was 

 tliat which appears in the section as an upper storey, while 

 the lower region was subsequently excavated. Here the 

 central cavity seems to have reached its maximum proportion 

 of safety, and it would appear tliat the supplementary cavities 

 were constructed to meet the full demands of the great brood 

 of tei'mites being raised. 



The striking feature of the nest of this species may be said 

 to lie in the fact that tlie cavern is not developed around the 

 queen-cell, but to one side of it. The fungus-garden is 

 closely applied about the queen-cell, and eggs are scattered 

 freely in tlie centre of the fungus-mass for incubation ; there 

 also young termites in all stages of growth abound. 



The king and queen are found in a chamber hollowed in 

 the clay -mass. This is of large proportions, and characterised 

 by the high dome. In three examples the long diameters are 

 130-140 mm., the shorter 75-90 mm., and the heights 28-38 

 mm. It will be seen that the cells agree with tliat figured by 

 Sjostedt for T . t r a n s v a a 1 e n s i s. The cells are ver}^ different 

 to those of T. natal en sis, and the great space above the 

 queen is peculiar, seeing she possesses so flattened and flaccid 

 a body. The king is active, but never departs far from the 

 queen, even when the two are confined in a wider space than 

 that of the cell. The queen, on the other hand, cannot move, 

 and her body is an almost inert mass. She pulls and tugs 

 with her legs, and the head and thoracic parts are as lively 

 as those of the queen of natalensis. The involuntary mus- 

 cular movements of the abdomen proceed as in the case of 

 natalensis, but more slowly. When opened the queen-cell 

 contains a fair proportion of soldiers, a few major workers 

 and a multitude of minor workers. If a queen is transferred 

 to an observation box with workers, the process of egg-laying 

 goes on uninterruptedly, whilst the workers, after making 



