244 CLAUDE FULLER. 



Respecting the antennal expressions it may be added that of 

 A, those of XIV and XV are arrested or abridged forms of 

 XVI, whilst the XVII and XVIII of B are similar forms 

 of XIX; therefore there existed a considerable difference in 

 the degree of development. 



Material. — My earlier collections wei"e made with the 

 main object of ascertaining which of our species were most 

 concerned in the destruction of cultivated plants and build- 

 ings. Consequently they were lai-gely composed of many 

 workers and a few soldiers. More recently one of the chief 

 objects was to secure images and imago-nymphs in various 

 stages of development, and these latter collections are, inci- 

 dentally, fairly representative of the post-embryonic phases 

 of the several castes. The material was mainly pi-eserved in 

 alcohol, and the technique employed was of the simplest. 



It Avas early found that in order to ascertain th« variation 

 in the number of joints of the antenna of a given caste, it is 

 very necessary to examine a lengthy seines before any positive 

 conclusion is arrived at or the antennal index decided upon. 



Terms, ^There is, I think, only one term for which I need 

 make any apology, and it is the word " larva," This is 

 applied to the undifferentiated forms in the earlier stages of 

 development, and, however at variance with good practice, 

 the use of the term is very convenient and leads to less 

 prolixity. The word " nymph " is employed more or less as 

 a comparison to the word ^' callow." Thus " nyiiiphs " are 

 those forms which, by the possession of wing-sacs, may be 

 regarded as the precursors of winged adults, and " callows " 

 are soldiers and workers in the penultimate stage for Avhich a 

 distinctive term is desirable. For brevity the word " imago " 

 is used in referring to winged males and females — the only 

 repi'oductive forms coming under notice. Once they have 

 completed their development, soldiers and workers are spoken 

 of as being " adult," in the sense that they are " grown up." 



2. THE LIFE-HISTORY OF A TERMITE. 

 The main outline of the life-cycle is now given, as the 



