1898-99. | Queensland Termites. a 
of the scars which mark the discarded wings of the true 
queen. 
I have said that the princesses are egg-bearing, and yet it 
is obvious that they have not made the nuptial flight. This 
would favour the idea that males are functional inside the 
termitary. They may well be so, as in the summer season, 
and previous to swarming—the nuptial flight—the winged 
males are there by thousands. This leads to the further con- 
clusion that a winged virgin queen may be fecundated during 
flight, or soon after. This does not exclude the probability of 
winged males being functional in the nest, perhaps as in the 
case of the immature princesses, and perhaps also in the case 
of the mature wingless queen. 
Queen’s Consort—As to a single and honoured wingless 
male, a permanent king, existing in the nest, the negative evi- 
dence—from my own observations—is so strong that I cannot 
help doubting his existence, at least in Queensland. 
The Nuptial Flight—On a summer day towards the even- 
ing, and when the air is moist—it usually happens just before 
the beginning of the rainy season—the air may be found full 
of winged termites. They are omnipresent inside and outside 
a house. They enter by every cranny, they explore every 
nook, The swarms are always mature males, or, it may be, 
females—developed from nymphs. In my experience they 
are almost, if not altogether, males. I have examined very 
many microscopically, and they were only of the male sex. I 
therefore lean to the opinion that I have missed the winged 
females, and that their proportional number—as in the case 
of some Diptera and Hymenoptera—must be very small. 
I have said that there is never egress direct from a ter- 
mitary. The point from which the winged crowd issues may 
be discovered by following the swarm to its source, a spot 
some yards in extent. This spot is not near the termitary ; 
it is the last place you might suspect white ants to come 
from. Observing these temporary openings carefully, a 
curious fact presents itself, which almost needs a hand lens 
to verify. Thus observed, the active little heads of soldiers 
will be seen bobbing up and down at each opening, and we 
shall see that each point of departure is sentinelled, and that 
the sentinels regulate, and probably compel, the exit of the 
