KEVISIOlSr OF NEARCTIC TERMITES. 173 



Mountains (winged adults, Snyder) ; Santa Barbara (Osten Sacken) ; 

 Los Angeles (Crotch), Santa Monica, San Gabriel Mountains, and 

 Whittier, all in Los Angeles County; Laguna Beach, Orange County 

 (Wheeler); Campo, San Diego County (Snyder), and San Diego 

 (Mar. 25, 1916, H. G. Dyar, winged adults). 



R. Hopping collected workers and soldiers from a large colony 

 under lava rock, near Mount Lassen, California, along the Susan 

 River, April 15, 1916. This was on a bare hillside near pine timber, 

 with sage brush on the hill. 



At San Diego, California, on July 15, 1919, F. P. Keen collected 

 workers and soldiers of R. Jiesperus in a rather unusual location. 

 Keen writes : 



Our soil here in San Diego has about two feet of surface soil and then a layer of 

 sandstone conglomerate or "hard pan," about a foot in thickness, which is as hard 

 as concrete and practically impervious to roots, air or moisture. 



While excavating a garage pit, and after penetrating a foot of thick "hard pan," I 

 was most surprised to find little pockets of these termites. I did not find their galleries, 

 although they probably were there. How they ever managed to get below the 

 "hardpan " (three, feet below the surface) is a mystery to me. They couldn't have 

 followed roots down because roots don't penetrate it, and they couldn't have gone 

 around since it extends as a solid layer all over the mesa lands. Above ground I 

 have found them in honeysuckle roots and other things. 



In Southwestern Texas galleries of species of termites of sub- 

 terranean habit penetrate soil which is dry and baked hard by the 

 sun. Possibly most of the excavating is done during the rainy 

 season when the earth is moist. 



H. O. Marsh collected workers and soldiers at Avalon, Catalina 

 Island, California, on October 28, 1908. 



Nevada: Elko (in the roots of sage brush, Snyder). (PL 14, fig. 2.) 



B. hesperus is a destructive wood borer and injures any wood in 

 contact with the ground, including telephone poles and the woodwork 

 of buildings. (PI. 31.) It has similar habits to other species m the 

 genus Reticulitermes. On May 22, 1918, Mr. L. A. Whitney, quaran- 

 tine inspector of the State Commission of Horticulture, San Francisco, 

 submitted specimens of workers and soldiers of this species for 

 determination. They were injuring artichoke plants. 



Species of Reticulitermes in eastern United States are seldom if 

 ever found under cow chips; in CaUfornia, colonies under cow chips 

 and stones are not rare. 



The study of the habitat of the different genera of termites with 

 ecological notes and the plotting of their distribution in life zones 

 will be of great interest when more is known of their habits, 



SWARMING. 



Specimens of winged colonizing adults in the collection of the 

 Musemn of Comparative Zoology, at Cambridge, Massachusetts, 

 bear the label, "Los Angeles, California, May, '73, G, R. Crotch." 



