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andin May, Mr. Charles Stewart, secretary to the Royal Microsco- 
pical Society, and Fellow of the Linnean Society, would read a 
paper, the subject of which had not yet been decided on. The 
annual lecture of the Club would also shortly be given in the 
large Public Hall, when it was probable that Professor Morris (who 
last year delivered an able lecture on the Geology of Croydon), 
would be succeeded by Professor T. Rupert Jones, F.R.S., &e. 
The Presipent then called upon Mr. AtexanpER Hay Hatiey 
to read a paper illustrating the Habits of the White Ant, from 
notes taken in Java. Before proceeding with the subject matter of 
his paper, Mr. Halley gave a description of the species generally, 
which he said were numerous, and distributed over temperate and 
tropical regions. Their habits and instincts were extremely inter- 
esting, and had attracted attention from remote ages. They lived 
in societies, often very large, which consisted, as in bees, of males, 
females, and neuters, the latter being females with imperfect 
ovaries transformed at an early stage of their existence, and were 
distinguished into two classes, workers and soldiers, the former 
constituting the greater portion of each society, the latter some- 
what differing from them in larger size and larger and more 
powerful heads. The ordinary work of the society was performed 
by the workers; the principal part in warfare, defensive and 
offensive, was taken by the soldiers. Mr. Halley described the 
nests of ants, the process of pairing (supposed to take place in the 
air), the disposition, by the workers, of the eggs deposited, and 
the care taken by them of the young larve and pup, which, on 
being disturbed, are carried on the backs of workers to places of 
safety. Their resemblance to a grain of rice or corn had led to 
a general belief that they amassed stores of that commodity for 
winter food, but it was extremely difficult to ascertain whether this 
was so, as ants were in an entirely torpid state during winter. 
The habitations of ants were very curiously constructed, displaying 
great ingenuity, although with great diversity in the different 
species, the greater number of which formed their nests in the 
ground, and these rose above the surface in the forms of a dome; 
hence the name “ant hills,” commonly given to them. The 
White Ant was one of the most dreaded of insects in all tropical 
countries where they abounded ; and they committed great havoc 
in house roofs, furniture, woodwork, and amongst crops, and all 
sorts of devices had to be resorted to in order to preserve property 
from these destructive insects. When in Java he was warned 
that the presence of these insects in a room might be detected 
by a noise like the dripping of water, which showed that-they were 
eating their way upwards. After vainly listening on several 
occasions for the singular sound, he one night heard it at the 
uther end of his room, and on lifting up the matting he observed 
r 
5 ’ 
