30 Claude Fuller 



finely pointed. I have much pleasure in naming this insect after 

 my colleague, Mr. C. P. van der Merwe, as a small return for 

 the many observations he has made for me. 



Cr^piotermes pseudobrevis sp.n. 



Colonies of this species are knowoi to have inhabited the v/ood- 

 work of certain compositors* desks in the printing works of the 

 ** Natal Mercury,'* at Durban, for a number of years past. 

 Because it has not been found elsewhere and is localised in the 

 centre of that part of the town which has longest been the most 

 closely built over, one is inclined to look upon it as an exotic 

 species. 



TTie heads of the soldiers, in a lateral inspection, agree wholly 

 with the excellent figure of the West Indian Cryptoiermes brevis 

 Walker published by Nathan Banks (1920). Unfortunately* 

 there appears to be no description of this caste of brevis, the species 

 having been erected on the imago. The head of pseudobrevis 

 is, as with that of brevis, tuberculate in front and smooth behind. 

 There is also a deep cavity in front. Viewed from above pseudo- 

 brevis exhibits a strikingly bilobed frontal ridge; this is more 

 deeply indented than is the case with havilandi and senegalensis. 

 Behind the frontal ridge there is a median groove extending back 

 to neany half the length of the head. From this aspect the sides 

 of the head are so sinuate that the outline resembles that of a squat 

 ewer. The pronotum is cream coloured except for the erected, 

 front corners and thereabouts, where it is brown. 



The front corners are well within the boundaries of the sides 

 so that the pronotum may be said to narrow strikingly; they are 

 triangular and flap-like, and so erected that each is marked off 

 from the rest of the pronotum by a distinct groove. Hie sides 

 and hind margin merge roundlv into one another The figure 

 of brevis given by Banks does not indicate any striking peculiarity 

 of the pronotum such as that here described for pseudobrevis.. 



The winged imagos before me were killed in the nest before 

 they had become chitinised. They are pale yellow with black 



