204 



PSYCHE. 



[May— July iS 



same size as the ripe eggs of the queen. 

 The size of the eggs before these 

 diminish rapidly; only eight or nine 

 were developed, and very similar to those 

 in the queen ; the three eggs in advance 

 of the last one are darker with a series 

 of elongated cells on each side ; those 

 before them shorter, nearly quadrangu- 

 lar, paler, all with a germinal vesicle and 

 dot. Then come very small compart- 

 ments, with egg-cells in transversal rows 

 and farther on irregular cells in large 

 numbers and very near together. The 

 oviduct is inserted on the inferior end of 

 ihe ovarium, just on the centre of its in- 

 ferior end, first somewhat enlarged, then 

 cylindrical, .157 mm. in thickness, and 

 .641 mm. in length to the point, where 

 it meets the oviduct of the opposite side ; 

 both forming together from here the large 

 oviduct. The egg-canal in the centre 

 of the ovarium does not reach beyond 

 the point where the first (near the tip of 

 the abdomen) bundle of tracheae is at- 

 tached, and increases therefore later in 

 length by the successive development 

 of the ovarium. 



The ovarium of the queen. 



A queen of Euternies ripper Hi .24 

 mm. in length, the abdomen .20 mm. 

 long and .oS mm. in thickness, was 

 dissected. After removing the dorsal 

 part of the skin the whole abdomen ap- 

 peared to be filled by the two ovaria. 

 The queen was perhaps an old one, as 

 there was very little fat along the outer 

 side of the ovarium. In a queen of 

 Termes gilvus and in another of E. 

 rippertii sil^YgQ layer of fat very richly 



provided with tracheae was found outside 

 along the ovarium. Probably this fatty 

 layer had been used up by the dissected 

 queen of E. rippertii^ as the rich net 

 of tracheae was connected more closely 

 below with the ovarium. 



Each ovarium seen from above is a 

 large cylinder, and both are placed so 

 close together, that only a small median 

 furrow for the dorsal vessel remains above 

 between them. 



The whole surface of the ovarium is 

 light yellow and consists of very small 

 Q^^ tubes, beginning seemingly on the 

 inner border of the ovarium, and form- 

 ing bundles in the shape of flattened 

 braids, running backward somewhat and 

 later incurved outwards, winding down 

 to the under side of the ovarium. 



The basis of the ov^arium near the end 

 of the abdomen is thick, rounded and 

 globular. The apex of the ovarium 

 near the thorax follows strictly the outline 

 of the abdomen, is somewhat globular 

 but on the top has a more contracted 

 part, adapted to the smaller size of the 

 first abdominal segment. This part 

 consists also of braids of ^-g^ tubes, ar- 

 ranged similarly to the parting of the 

 hair. A small, cylindrical, yellow pro- 

 longation situated internally near this 

 part reaches farther into the thorax to 

 the dorsal vessel. This yellow cylinder 

 is short, .139 mm. in thickness and ends 

 with a quadrangular, somewhat hand- 

 shaped, internal dilatation, concave be- 

 low, and meeting the similar dilatation 

 of the opposite ovarium. The yellow 

 cylinder is formed of the filaments or 

 thread-like ends of the Qg% tubes, closely 



