1890.] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 173 



May 14th, 1889. The interesting monograpli, " Termitogaster 

 insolens/' by Capt. Thomas L. Casey, is just received, and it is 

 the finest collection of descriptive words that I have seen, and I 

 hope to have a description of the other termite guest — the white 

 one — which is found among the T. testaceus also. 



The timbers under the water-tank that stand on our coal-bin 

 were much decayed. They were of sound yellow pine, and had 

 been in use for five years. The weight of the tank had squeezed 

 them together an inch, and on taking them out there was a pre- 

 mature flight of T. testaceus at the same place as one described 

 to you a month ago. It is evident from this that there may be 

 several swarms in one season. 



The Eev. Mr. Geddes, from Jamaica, in looking at my calo- 

 termitarium, said he had frequently seen the same work there 

 on ash and kindred woods, but they called it ''dry rot "and 

 did not think it was the termites. I showed him a bottle con- 

 taining about 2,000 Calotermes taken out of one piece, and 

 it convinced him, and he intends to send me some observa- 

 tions. 



My Calotermes are a happy family. I can coax them out of 

 their nest to have their heads and faces smoothed and washed 

 with a moistened camel's-hair pencil, and sometimes they will 

 playfully take the pencil in their mandibles if I press too hard. 

 When fully developed they have perfect wings, eyes, and lobed 

 feet, and I have a perfect winged one, or imago, that shows 

 reflected light under the microscope, while the nympha does 

 not. 



May 24th, 1889. There is so much of interest about the ter- 

 mites that I am bewildered with astonishment and scarcely 

 know where to commence or end. I am glad to hear that Mr. 

 Eiederer's careful studies and dissections of the nymphaa confirm 

 my observations in relation to the gradual development of the 

 C. marginipennis, and it is probably gratifying to him to know 

 that our conclusions are the same, reached, as they are, from 

 different methods of study, — his from the dead specimen, and 

 mine from the living in its habitat. 



I have found another parasite feeding on the dead Nasuti- 

 termes (Eutermes) in my termitariura. It is horrible-looking, 

 with claws on its feet, and hairs on the abdomen larger than the 

 first parasite noticed, Thereare hundreds of them, and as there 

 are only a few soldiers and one Staphylinide, it may account for 

 their increase, as the latter may prey upon them in some stage 

 of growth. 



As the calotermitariums are deepened and out of the focus 

 of my microscope, I start others on the surface, and move my 



