282 B. GRASSI AND A. SANDIAS. 
obstacle, or by becoming damp and adhering to some spot, 
while the insect continues to move about. 
But if not favoured by chance the Calotermite rids itself 
of its wings, as the following observation shows. Four perfect 
insects, which had recently left the nest, were captured by 
hand after flying about a room for some time, and were put 
under a piece of rotten wood. They had hardly settled down 
before they began to strip off their wings by resting their tips 
against some projecting corner of the wood and then moving 
backwards a little, so that the wings buckled towards the base, 
broke, and dropped off. When rid of them they began to 
gnaw the wood, at first along, and then across the grain; each 
worked by himself and at some distance from his fellows. 
Subsequently several chance encounters took place between 
them; they threatened to bite each other, and then ran off in 
different directions. They were of the same sex. If they had 
been of different sexes they would certainly sooner or later 
have copulated. 
In the colony of Calotermes all members work for the 
common welfare. The soldiers serve for defence, but as a rule 
only when some important enemy has to be combated; at 
other times nymphs and possibly the older larve assume the 
task. 
Cremastogaster scutellaris, Ol., which is abundant 
here, is one of the most formidable enemies of Calotermes, 
near which it makes its own nests. This ant enters the termi- 
tarium to massacre, whereas its own nest is never invaded by the 
Calotermite soldiers. If some examples of Cremastogaster 
are put into a tube containing a Calotermite nest, the follow- 
ing phenomena can readily be followed. The soldiers place 
themselves with gaping mandibles, waiting for any enemy that 
may come within reach. They then snap their jaws rapidly, 
shearing off antenne and legs, tearing the abdomen, or even 
cutting the ants in two at the level of the abdominal petiole. 
The soldier’s mandibles are seen to act like extremely sharp 
shears. 
