No. 3-] THE EMBRYOLOGY OF A TERMITE. 509 



lie on the convex surface at the micropylar pole of the &%g, 

 while the head coincides with the anterior limit of the same 

 surface. 



Dr. Hagen (12) described the micropyles of the eggs of this 

 species as follows : " The micropyles of Termes eggs have not 

 before been known. Near the upper pole of the Q.gg, on each 

 side, there are four to six flat impressions ; viewed in profile 

 they are similar to a soup dish. In the middle of this shallow 

 funnel is a tube of smaller diameter going through the yolk- 

 membrane in the direction of the Q.g^ pole." 



This description must be modified somewhat ; since I have 

 found that the funnels are more numerous, and are grouped on 

 the ventral surface. The chorion is the only membrane pene- 

 trated by these funnels. The micropyles are arranged in a 

 semicircle, on the convex face of the ^gg, near the posterior 

 end. This semicircle is composed of from 12 to 18 funnels, 

 which vary considerably in arrangement. They may be strung 

 out into a single line, curving over the ventral surface, just 

 above the place where the embryonic disc first appears, and 

 extending up on either side toward the dorsal surface. Often 

 the funnels at the two ends of the line are crowded together, 

 while the ventral median ones form a single row (PI. XXIX, 

 Fig. i). In some eggs, on the other hand, the funnels of the 

 median ventral row are gathered together, while the lateral 

 openings extend in a line on either side. In surface prepara- 

 tions the rims of the funnels at the mouths may be seen to be 

 slightly corrugated. 



Sections of the chorion above the germ-disc, as represented 

 in PI. XXXI, Fig. 31, cut the micropyles through the wide 

 outer opening, the penetrating canal, or the inner opening. 



Dr. Hagen (12) thought he could "see distinctly a bunch of 

 filiform spermatozoa inside the micropyles in some eggs," and 

 that in one case he had succeeded in bringing them out by 

 pressure. I have never found any spermatozoa. Filiform 

 bunches are often seen beneath the chorion. On examination 

 such appearances have proved to be due to various objects, but 

 never to spermatozoa. In surface views of alcoholic specimens, 

 the folds of the vitiline membrane and protoplasmic threads 



