316 



2. Larvae of soldier, derived from ]. Distinctly differs from the 

 other castes in having somewhat elongate, toothless mandibles 

 and suborbicular head. 



3. Larvae of worker, derived from 1. Large-headed and provided with 



clearly denticulated mandibles, the tip and the inner margin of 

 which are more or less brown. 



4. Larvae of royal form, derived from 1. Small-headed; other exter- 



nal characters are similar to those of worker larvae. 



5. N^'mph of royal form. The members of this caste are provided with 



two pairs of wing pads and one pair of nonpigmented eyes and 

 ocelli; body milk white. 



6. Winged forms with pigmented eyes. Body reddish brown. At the 



beginning of May vast numbers of this caste are found in the 

 nests; they emerge from the old nest early in June, 



7. A single queen, derived from a female of the winged form. Ab- 



domen greatly enlarged, with two pairs of triangular wing 

 stumps on the thorax. 



8. A single king, derived from a male of the winged form. Abdomen 



normal, wifh two pairs of triangular wing stumps on the thorax. 



9. Substitute royal forms. It is certain that there are several kings 



and queens belonging to this class; however, the substitute king 

 is not known. The substitute queen which was collected in 

 Kiushiu by Mr. Tatsuo Yoneyama, engineer of the Imperial 

 Kail way, is 12 millimeters long; head yellow, abdomen milk 

 w^hite, thorax with no wing stumps. This caste is very rare in 

 the colony of Coptotermes formosanus. According to Yoneyama 's 

 information, the nest which contained this queen was orphaned 

 and some fifteen of the same form were captured at the same 

 time. 



THE FOUNDATION OF A NEW COLONY 



In Formosa the swarming of Coptotermes fonnosanus takes 

 place at the end of May or early in June, while in Japan proper 

 the winged individuals swarm a little later; that is, at the end of 

 June. 



After the adults have rapidly emerged from the parent nest in 

 a vast swarm and have flown a short distance in an irregular, 

 wobbly manner, they fall to the ground. As soon as they reach 

 the ground, they cast the wings. Then the male is attracted to 

 the female and follows her tirelessly and closely, performing the 

 so-called "Termiten Liebes-Spaziergang." In this manner the 

 imagoes sepai^ate into pairs and enter hiding places in order to 

 establish new colonies, usually under pieces of decaying wood, in 

 holes and crevices in wood, or directly in the earth. 



In order to observe the starting of a new colony, many new 

 couples were captured in glass tubes. 



The bottom of a test tube, 2 by 16 centimeters, is bored with a 

 capillary pore, and a piece of absorbent cotton is inserted. Then a 

 proper quantity o£ crushed clay is placed in the tube to serve 

 as the abode of the future colony ; upon this layer pieces of soft 

 wood or cotton are laid for food. A male and a female that have 

 recently flov/n from the nest are now placed in the tube, which is 

 tightly corked and put in a dark place. 



In order to keep captive termites in a healthy condition, it is 

 absolutely necessary to give them proper humidity. This is done 



