1890.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 163 



tree. It was round, about two feet in diameter, and looked old. 

 This was well supplied with eggs, and near the centre were six 

 queens, somewhat shrunken and of a brownish-yellow color. 

 (These are in the bottle with thesixStaphylinidae.) I took three 

 of these queens, to experiment with those in my termitarium, 

 under observation for three months. At 2 p.m. on the 12th of 

 September, 1888, I put in a queen, which was received with at- 

 tention, and caressed, washed, and apparently fed by both soldiers 

 and workers; in a few moments it crawled into the nest and was 

 lost to view. A female from nest No. 8 was well received. At 7 p.m. 

 I introduced three queens and five Staphylinidtefrom nest No. 8, 

 about fifteen minutes apart. They were all greeted like the first, 

 except more turned out to receive them. Very different, however, 

 was the reception to a worker accidentally dropped among them. 

 It was pounced upon and maimed, as were workers introduced 

 for experiment. 



After four days I dissected my termitarium to find the intro- 

 duced queens. They were nearly at the bottom and centre of 

 the nest, in a little hollow, and several of the Staphylinid^e also. 

 Near by was a cluster of new-laid eggs, enough to cover a ten- 

 cent piece. I looked at them with the magnifying glass, then 

 carefully replaced the parts of the nest. They seem contented 

 and do not try to escape. 



September loth, 18S8. I send you, by Mr. Farrington, some 

 samples of the work of Nasutitermes (Entermes). The var- 

 nished piece is from a passenger-coach. The ants in the bottle 

 came from nest No. 5, and have been under my observation for 

 a week. The red paint shows the place in the nest where the 

 queens were found, and you can see the sprouts of coca palm 

 running through it. The Staphylinidse — my *' maids of honor " — 

 are in a bottle {Terniitogaster insolens, Casey). 



September 21st, 1888. In answer to your questions received by 

 the last steamer: 1st. With regard to finding a male attendant in 

 the queen^s cell, I have found several wingless ants in the large 

 nests where there are several queens, but I am not sure they are 

 attendants. Breaking into the centre of a nest is a slow opera- 

 tion and disturbs them and the wingless ants ; male or small 

 females are very active. 



Oct. 2d. What were the parasites on the qu^en ? They looked like 

 minute lice, and lodged in the joints behind the head, and some- 

 times could be seen running over the body. To-day I noticed a 

 worker acting as if in pain, and trying to attract the attention of 

 its mates by violent jerks. Two or three came and licked at it, 

 but did not seem to relieve it, when in desperation it rushed 

 to a worker and licked it, and then held its head down for the 

 same purpose. It also rubbed its head with its forelegs, then 



