CONSTITUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TERMITES. 285 
The ants themselves attack the Calotermites indifferently, 
but habitually avoid the heads of the soldiers, only daring 
occasionally to attempt to lop off their mandibles. As a rule 
they attack the soldiers from behind by biting the abdomen, 
and to protect it the soldiers creep under pieces of wood so as 
to leave the head alone free. 
If a few Cremastogaster and a larger number of Calo- 
termites are put into a tube, peace is usually concluded after 
about an hour’s conflict, with a certain number of dead and 
wounded on both sides. The ants take up a position in one 
part of the nest and the Calotermites in another. 
[Besides the ants, the soldiers of Termes are terrible 
enemies, but being small they are easily cut in two through 
the thorax by the Calotermite soldiers. The workers of 
Termes are much less dangerous enemies than the soldiers of 
that species. One, put into a tube-nest of Calotermes with 
soldiers, was at once placed hors de combat by a nymph, 
which cut off part of the buccal apparatus. Then sundry large 
larvee and other nymphs hurried up, bit off its legs, and tore 
its abdomen until the viscera protruded. Thesoldiers took no 
part except towards the end of the struggle, when one gave it 
a bite. Similar observations have been made several times, 
and show, as we said before, that the soldiers purposely reserve 
themselves for more important foes. 
Another Termes worker was put into a Calotermes 
nest containing no soldiers. The inmates took flight, pro- 
bably terrified by the knowledge that they were unprotected 
by soldiers; and the Termes succeeded in throwing the 
nest into confusion, until after some lapse of time a nymph 
plucked up courage to bite its abdomen, and thus killed it. 
A substitute queen of Termes lucifugus was introduced 
into another tube containing a Calotermite nest. A soldier 
promptly despatched her by decapitation, and then only did 
the nymphs intervene to tear the body. During the rest of 
the day the soldier never moved from the spot where he had 
killed the queen. | 
Besides protecting the nest the soldiers fulfil other duties, 
