()Tl ; termites or white ants. 



plates of the 7th. 8th, and 9th abdominal segments. In all species of 

 the genus Termes the abdomen subsequently swells to many times its 

 original size: but this swelling is not accompanied by any molting; 

 the chitinous plates do not alter, but become separated by the disten- 

 sion of the intervening cuticle. * in most groups there are 

 present a number of minute lateral thickenings, usually colored, and 

 hearing each a hair. 



When, as in most species, the queen is inclosed in a royal cell from 

 which she is too large to escape, a familiarity with the nest and habits 

 of the species will lead to her discovery without much trouble; but in 

 all species other than the fungus-growers the king can leave the royal 

 cell, and generally does so when he finds the nest is being opened. 

 In many species, however, the queen wanders about the nest, and she 

 then seeks, like the king, to avoid observation when the nest is being 

 opened. In such cases there is only one way of searching method- 

 ically for her. Remove the nest with as little disturbance as possible 

 to a convenient place free from the attacks of ants; a large table with 

 its feet standing in water is the best place. Break the nest into frag- 

 ments, remove each fragment one by one. examine it carefully, and 

 put it aside in a sate place, so that the search may. if necessary, be 

 gone through a second time. If the nest has been broken into frag- 

 ments before it has been much disturbed, the king will be found in the 

 same fragment as the queen. If the nest is broken into fragments 

 gradually, the king, if found at all. will generally be found in the 

 fragment last examined. The longest time I spent searching through 

 one nest was three days. I found a king; the queen escaped me, but I 

 feel confident that was due to my want of care, and she was really there. 



I have found colonies which I believed to be, through some accident, 

 queenless. and there are. no doubt, species in which a single colony owns 

 several nests: but the rule is that every nest has a true royal pair. I 

 have found as many as six true royal pairs; they were, as is always 

 the case, in the same royal cell; their tarsi were injured, presumably 

 as the result of quarreling. 



When there is a true queen, she is. so far as my observations go, 

 always accompanied by a true king. When there is more than one 

 true queen, the number of true kings is generally equal to them; but 

 often it is less, and occasionally it is greater. The king has no copu- 

 la tory organs. From Professor Grassi^ observations, it is probable that 

 in Caloteimies copulation nevertheless does take place. In Ternux m<i- 

 layanus I have reason to think that the king fertilizes the eggs after 

 they are laid; indeed, copulation in the case of kings and fully grown 

 queens of most species of the genus Termes is apparently impossible. 



I raised neoteinic forms artificially in two species of Calolennes. In 

 species of the fungus-growers neoteinic forms have never been found. 

 In five cases 1 removed the royal pairs from the nests of T. malayanus^ 



