46 



BULLETIN 108, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



From most of the Eastern United States, east of the Mississippi 

 River, Battery, Maine to Long Key (Lower Everglades) Florida, 

 and in Matamoras (Tamaulipas, Mexico), except certain places in 

 extreme north, also is not so common in extreme south. This species 

 occurs as far west as St. Louis, Missouri and Van Buren (Crawford 

 County), Arkansas. The southern shores of the Great Lakes^ or 

 rather the Superior Highlands, appear to be a northern limit of this 

 species. West of the Mississippi it occurs in Texas, Arkansas, 

 Missouri; flying in spring before R. virginicus; however there are 

 various cases of fall flights. (Fig. 30.) 



RETICULITERMES VIRGINICUS Banks. 



Winged. — Hard parts rich, dark, shining, castaneous; the ab- 

 dominal plates about as dark as head; legs beyond femora whitish. 

 Head a little longer than broad, median groove extending to the 

 punctiform fontanelle, which is almost on a line connecting the hind 



margins of the eyes; eyes hardly 

 circular, a little projecting on side 

 toward cheeks, a little less than 

 diameter from the lower margin; 

 ocelli less than diameter from eyes. 

 Pronotum much narrower than 

 head, not broader than distance 

 between eyes; rather strongly 

 bilobed behind. Body, legs, and 

 wing scales clothed with pale hair; 

 that on the head darker. Wings 

 hyaline, plainly a little whitish. 

 Length to tip of wings, 8 mm. 

 Soldier. — ^Head about the same 

 proportions as in R. jiavipes, but 

 smaller tlu-oughout, being shorter 

 and narrower. The mandibles as 

 in R. -ftavipes, and apical segments 

 also; the cerci perhaps a little 

 smaller in proportion; the maxil- 

 lary palpi are about as long as in 

 R. Jiavipes, so come much nearer to reacliing the tip of the mandi- 

 bles; antennae of about 16 segments. 



Occurs from Baltimore and Westminster (Carroll County), Mary- 

 land, south to Paradise Key, Florida, in the Lower Everglades, and 

 west to Kentucky (Okolona, near Louisville in Jefferson County), 

 and Louisiana, (Shreveport, Caddo Parish). (Fig. 31.) 



Swarms about a month later than R. jiavipes; it does not extend 

 as far north or west as that species and is less common. 



Fig. 31. — Distribution of Reticulitebmes 

 virginicus. 



