1899-1900.] Further Notes on Queensland Termttes. 69 
of termite, differing in important points from other termites, 
and from the other clans in the same localities inhabiting less 
conspicuous dwellings. 
Calotermes and termes in Sicily are little communities 
fighting for a slender existence at the outside bourn of their 
race! The European termites bear a like relation to their 
Australian kin that the people of St Kilda do to those of 
London. The comparative numbers are about the same. 
Taking the cubic contents of a termitary at 50 cubic feet, I 
arrived at a rough estimate of the individuals in one of our 
average nests thus :— 
Thickly populated part . . = 20 cubic feet. 
More thinly populated part . =20 
Nearly empty (a quantity which 
may be neglected) neha :; 
Individuals absent on foraging and distant expeditions were 
too numerous to be counted in, but these may be reckoned as 
equal to a thickly populated part of 30 cubic feet. I counted 
the dwellers in a thickly populated block of 592 inches, and 
_ found them to be 90 per cubic inch. We thus arrive at the 
following calculation: 90 x 1728 x 30 = 4,665,600 termites 
in an average termitary. 
Grassi gives the number 500 as a high average of in- 
dividuals for calotermes: termes’ dwellings have a consider- 
ably larger population. It is only to be expected that a 
community of mound-builders in South Queensland such as 
I am using for comparison in these remarks should have an 
organisation more complex than calotermes. Without specu- 
_ lating on the secret by which order is maintained and work 
distributed in these large communities, it is certain that the 
_ one queen is the motive, and represents authority there. 
_ When she dies the community perishes. This is to be 
_ inferred from numerous experiments. There are other 
Australian species which create complementary or substitute 
‘queens, as calotermes does, but not this one. Taking this 
species, the one I know best, I find its economy differs at 
oO 
_ 1 Mr Grieve means that in Europe there are very few places where termites are 
found. Sicily is their principal home, although they are also found at Genoa, 
and have been imported to Bordeaux.—W. C. C. 
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