106 JOURNAL OF THE [October, 



Mr. Beaumont found in the Coccoloba tree a small colony of 

 Caloter/nes, the soldier of which is like the one figured by Dr. 

 Hagen as Calotcniies flavicollis. The largest of these soldiers 

 was Yx of an inch long, and was armed with powerful mandibles. 

 Several more soldiers from the same nest were over ^ of an , 

 inch long, and had the appearance of not being fully grown. 

 These are by far the largest soldiers from the Isthmus so far dis- 

 covered, and are shown as specimens No. 5, 



No large colonies of the same species have been found upon 

 the Isthmus, though they may exist. C. flavicollis is not known 

 to have been found in Central, South, or North America, but is 

 in Spain, Italy and Egypt. A large amount of the plant used in 

 the excavation of the Suez Canal went to the Isthmus, and it is 

 possible, Calotermes flavicollis was in the timber portions of the 

 plant. 



It will be remembered that I stated that in the communities 

 of the Termes and Eiilermes, beside a queen, or queens and 

 kings, their were soldiers and workers, the latter being many 

 times the most numerous. Of young there would be larvae and 

 nymphse of several ages, many of the latter with long wing- 

 cases developing into winged imagines, both male and female, 

 previous to the swarming season. The winged imagines all have 

 eyes, and swarm, while the soldiers and workers are blind, and 

 do not swarm. The soldiers do guard-duty and defend the com- 

 munity against minor attacks, though, when the community is 

 attacked in great numbers, the workers assist in the defence. 

 Mr. Beaumont watching Termes testaceus swarm, from a nest 

 in a yellow pine sill, said the soldiers surrounded the orifice 

 from which the insects issued, and stood guard with their 

 mandibles open.* Upon the workers devolves all the labor of 

 nest building, construction of the extensive systems of galleries, 

 tunnelling the wood, rearing the young, and caring for the 

 queens. 



Mr. Beaumont, who has watched several species of the 

 Termes and Euiermes in his glass termitaria, says the work is 

 done in a very orderly, and systematic manner. 



The soldiersof the 7>rw^.f have long sickle-shaped mandibles, 

 operated by powerful muscles. 



* Observations of May, 1889. 



