38 



The winged form measures ^ an inch in length to the tip of the wings, 

 and just half that to the tip of the body, and is of the usual dark brown 

 tint, and clothed with fine hairs. Antennae 16-jointed. The soldier has 

 a dull reddish orange-coloured head, with the tip of the snout almost 

 black; the thorax and abdomen brown, with pale segmental divisions. 

 Antennse slender, 12-jointed. Length of body J of an inch. The worker 

 with reddish-brown head, the rest of upper surface light brown ; a little 

 longer than the soldier. 



The Great Mound-nest Eutermes (Eutermes pyriformis, Froggatt). 



The winged forms have never been obtained from the nests for deter- 

 mination, though probably common just before the wet season. The 

 soldier, measuring under \ of an inch in length, has a reddish brown, 

 smooth, shining head; the base of the snout black and the tip reddish. 

 The worker, slightly larger than the former, has a pale dull yellow head, 

 blotched with brown, and 15-jointed antennae. 



This is the white ant that constructs some of the tallest nests in the 

 world, and comes from the neighbourhood of Port Darwin, in North 

 Australia. These nests average about 4 feet in diameter at the base, 

 running up in a regular fluted columnar form, with irregular projecting 

 buttresses, to a height of fully 18 feet, of an almost uniform width, and 

 terminating in an irregular pointed summit. These nests appear to be 

 built in the first instance over a dead tree stump or broken trunk, which 

 is gradually encased with clay on the outside, while the interior was eaten 

 out, and replaced with granulated masses of chewed wood. 



The Red-headed Eutermes (Eutermes hastilis, Froggatt). 



This is the typical eutermes in the Mackay district, Queensland, where 

 they form small rounded nests about a foot in diameter at the base, but 

 seldom more than half that in height. 



The winged form is of the usual dark brown tint, with lightly barred 

 antennse composed of fifteen joints. It measures ^ an inch in length to 

 the tip of the wings and about J to the tip of the body. The soldier differs 

 from both E. fumipe?mis and E. fumigatus in the bright rusty-red colour 

 of the head, and is intermediate in size between the two. The head 

 viewed from above is pear-shaped; the snout slender and pointed; with 

 13-jointed antennae. 



This appears to be a local species, and I have not seen it from any other 

 part of the country. 



The Common Pale Eutermes {Eutermes fumipennis, Walker). 



This is the largest of the two species common to this State, and is much 

 lighter in colour than the smaller species. They are found in all kinds 

 of situations, sometimes forming irregular galleries under logs and stones, 

 but often constructing regular rounded domed nests over logs up to 2 

 or 3 feet in height, but differing from the true termes' nests in having 

 no distinct earthy wall or outside shell, the earthy admixture forming the 



