40 B. GRASSI AND A. SANDIAS. 



never by himself, as abnormal forms (oviparous workers), like 

 the soldiers with rudimentary wings described by Hagen, and 

 as of no importance in the termite economy. He considers 

 that the nymphs of the second form found in Termes luci- 

 fugus are to be explained either as the result of seasonal 

 dimorphism, or as belonging to a species inquiline with the one 

 to which the nymphs of the first form belongs (he claims to 

 have observed the latter phenomenon in many American 

 species !). 



"Miiller^ has declared von Jehring's criticism to be insuffi- 

 cient, though without advancing any fresh facts, and they do not 

 appear to me to deserve further consideration." 



From these quotations it will be seen that Hagen and Fritz 

 Miiller have endeavoured to correct the grave errors into which 

 Lespes fell ; and Miiller in particular has nearly reached the 

 solution of the problem of the nymphs of the second form on 

 theoretical grounds_, but has confined himself simply to sug- 

 gestions. 



The principal new points in the present work of Dr. Sandias 

 and myself are the following : 



" 1. Numerous fully-winged examples emerge annually from 

 the nests of Calotermes flavicoUis and Termes luci- 

 fugus. A certain number of those belonging to the former 

 species succeed in founding new colonies. 



" Thos£ of Termes lucifugus are all irretrievably lost in 

 nature, at least in Sicily. This is shown by researches ex- 

 tending over some seven years. 



" 2. The males and females are accustomed to swarm sepa- 

 rately, and consanguineous pairing is thereby rendered difficult. 



"3. A certain number of winged Calotermes settle after 

 swarming upon decayed spots on tree-trunks. 



" There they skilfully get rid of their wings if not previously 

 assisted by chance, and then begin to burrow into the decayed 

 area. At this time the sexes meet and pair, and each pair 

 begins to found a fresh colony. 



' 'Ent. Nachr.,' xiii (1887), 177-8. 



