2 Queensland Termttes. [Sess. 
insects were at his very door. They are injured when they 
are disturbed or exposed to light—zin fact, they cannot stand 
light at all, as we shall see immediately: then it is believed 
that different kinds of termites occasionally live together in 
the same nest—at least Bates says so—without being of any 
apparent use to each other. Moreover, termites grow very 
slowly compared with other insects: the life of a worker bee 
in summer is about six to eight weeks; that of a worker 
termite, a couple of years or more. These are some of the 
reasons that make the study of the social life of termites so 
very difficult. 
Following Mr Grieve’s suggestion of presenting his paper in 
the way I think best, I shall make a few introductory remarks 
about termites, to let us see where we are, because I daresay 
very few of us have ever seen them alive: I myself never 
have, although I have seen their nests, and huge structures 
they are. 
If we glance at a text-book we shall find that termites are 
insects related to dragonflies, or rather between earwigs and 
dragonflies—z.ec., between the Orthoptera and the Neuroptera. 
Let me refer in a word or two to the literature of termites. 
Considering the extremely interesting biological problems 
(and, I might add, social inferences) which spring out of 
termite life, the literature is extremely small. I think I 
might safely say that I could carry away all that is of real 
value in my greatcoat pocket. The first of real importance, 
what might be called an epoch-making contribution, was made 
about 120 years ago (1781) to the Royal Society by Smeath- 
man. It is a very interesting and readable account of the 
author’s observations on the west coast of Africa—the Guinea 
Coast—on Termes bellicosus, which is the highest developed 
termite socially. Then for seventy years or more nothing 
was recorded. In the ’Fifties of this century two Frenchmen 
contributed articles on another species, 7. lucifugus. In the 
‘Seventies Fritz Miiller wrote some articles of value. Hagen 
also wrote what he had observed in America, and Haviland 
has been adding more recently to our knowledge of South 
African forms. I have seen nothing, although I have looked 
up a good deal of the literature, referring specially to the 
termites of Australia—I mean as to their social economy ; 
