406 CLAUDE FULLER. 



fail that the jaws are used. When the egg is sepai'ated it is 

 carried off in the mouth, projecting out between the jaws. 



The celluUxr arrangement of the whole of the nest, whilst 

 appearing in section (PI. XXXII, fig. 1) as a series of layers, is 

 so intricate that it baffles concise description. Such words as 

 " honeycombed " or " spongiform " do not express it. It is 

 better described as a labyrinth of galleries which cross and 

 recross one another and go in all directions. It has been 

 found that, starting from a given point, a termite can 

 progress to any other given point by a multitude of routes. 

 Thus a termite at one point can reach any other by an 

 almost direct route straight through the nest, or it can take 

 a curving or zig-zag route to right or left, restricted only by 

 the outer confines of the hive ; equally it can take either of 

 such routes by a series of ascents and descents or vice versa. 

 There is, in fact, no limit to the possible ways of journeying 

 from one part to another. In its arrangement the whole 

 nest can be likened to the fungus-beds of such species as 

 T. badius and vulgaris. The nest structure throvighout 

 is formed of gritty earth particles firmly cemented together, 

 but the hardness of the nest is largely dependent upon the 

 nature of the soil from which it is built, those in sandy loams 

 being much the softer. 



From the larger mounds numerous galleries are driven 

 out through the soil at one inch below the surface; these 

 are quite straight for some distance, and resemble the 

 spokes of a wheel, with the mound for the hub. Their 

 number is variable, but as many as twenty have been found 

 radiating from a mound having a diameter of 8i ft. Many 

 of them anastomose within a few feet of the mound. For 

 great lengths these galleries and their branches are of a 

 permanent nature, and form a succession of straight short 

 lengths or very wide curves. They are uniformly an inch 

 below the surface, and rise and fall most regularly with the 

 details in the contour of the surface. They have a uniform 

 width throughout, have hardened floors, and are vaulted 

 above (PI. XXIX, fig. 14). They connect either directly 



