1890.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 169 



as soon as they felt them approach they made an effort to get to 

 the workers' months ; sometimes two or three struggled for the 

 pap, so that after watching them I have no faith in the "fungus 

 theory." For these frail, transparent young could not nibble the 

 hard nodules found in the Jamaica tree-nests. I do not say 

 that this material is not used as food for young termites, but 

 that the young are unable to make use of it themselves. I have 

 never yet found fungus of any kind in the nests, and besides 

 have mounted some young, and can see under my microscope, 

 in the gullet and abdomen, food-grains of a more solid nature 

 than fungus. Hence this conclusion : that they are fed by the 

 workers with food prepared as wanted by them ; and I doubt 

 whether any other person has ever had the rare chance of seeing 

 these little young termites as I have seen them during the past 

 few days. 



April 14th, 1889. I have been in the jungle and made addi- 

 tions to my collections, — notably two Staphylinidae and one white 

 ant guest. Many decayed stumps were swarming with the Ter- 

 mes prmlongus, Beaumont (jumpers), but so far have not found 

 a queen, — though I have all others of that species, from the eggs 

 to the perfect winged ones, — and find that T. jjrcelongns work- 

 ers eject cement from the abdomen to cover their work, similar 

 to the Nasutitermes workerF. So far no galleries have been 

 found ; they seem to cover entirely, that is, the rotten stump. 

 From three Nasutitermes (Eutermes) queens I took off eight 

 parasites, and mounted all on one slide in balsam. 



Further observations of Nasutitermes (Eutermes) queens 

 during oviposition show two apertures at the extremity of the 

 abdomen ; from the upper is emitted the watery discharge, 

 which is in periods of a minute, the fluid trickling upon the eggs 

 discharged from the lower aperture and keeping them moist. 

 Please mention this to Mr. Riederer, as it may be important in 

 the study of the anatomy of the queen. 



On the 13th of April, 1889, I witnessed the first swarming of 

 the winged Termes. The first rain of the season, of forty-eight 

 hours, had abated; at 3 p.m. the air was still, and I predicted the 

 appearance of the winged ones before sundown. At4 p.m. there 

 was a swarm of swallows near our paint-shop, and rhe winged 

 ants were swarming from the ends of the coal-bin timbers at the 

 rate of about one hundred a minute. They were the Termes 

 testaceiis, and came mostly from a crack in the end of a 12x22 

 timber. Around this crack were the soldiers, with heads out 

 and mandibles open, and when touched would eject their milky 

 fluid. They seemed to guard the entrance against enemies, and 

 it was interesting to watch the winged ones squeeze out by them, 

 the soldiers remaining motionless. Many were captured on the 



