41 



covering gradually becoming more hard and woody as one comes towards 

 the centre ; and the base of the nest extends for some inches below the 

 surface of the soil. They also build the typical " Negro head" nests up 

 in the branches of live trees; these are of an irregular rounded form 

 almost exclusively composed of woody matter, and are soft and friable 

 when broken, and the internal structure is very irregular. I have also 

 found one of these "negro head " nests on the top of a large rock near 

 Manly, probably started over a small stump which had been eaten right 

 out; this was connected with the ground below with regular clay-covered 

 galleries running round the rock, and in all those found in the tree tops 

 galleries always lead down the trunk more or less hidden by the inequali- 

 ties of the bark, up and down which the white ants are always hurrying 

 backwards and forwards. 



The winged forms are of a general light reddish-brown tint, with pale 

 fuscous wings, measuring nearly f of an inch to the tip of the wings, 

 and over ^ of an inch to the extremity of the abdomen ; the large 

 flattened head furnished with slender antennae consisting of fifteen 

 joints. The queen measures 1 inch in length and ^ of an inch in 

 diameter. The worker is pale yellowish-brown, the brownish blotched 

 head with a double white suture dividing it, and a reddish spot on either 

 side in front. It measures J of an inch in length. 



The soldier has chestnut-coloured head, with the snout much darker, 

 and 13-jointed antennae. It measures ^ of an inch in length. It has a 

 wide range over the whole of Australia, and is found in all kinds of 

 situations, sharing with Termes lacteus the credit of doing most of the 

 damage to woodwork of houses and fences in Australia. 



The Common Dark Eutermes (Eiitermes fumigatus, Brauer). 



Two species of Eutermes are common in the neighbourhood of Sydney, 

 and are easily distinguished from each other by the size and colour of the 

 head of the soldier. This is the smaller of the two, with the dark-headed 

 soldiers. They appear to never construct nests, but form a network of 

 irregular galleries under logs, sheets of bark, and stones, but sometimes 

 infest old fences or exposed woodwork. 



The queen's chamber is often found when turning over the log under 

 which the nest has been made, and has no apparent structure other than 

 that of the surrounding galleries. The exodus of winged termites from 

 the nest takes place early in November ; supplementary queens are some- 

 times found in these nests. I received eight taken out of a nest near 

 Uralla. 



The winged forms are dark-brown, with the under surface, antennae, 

 and legs lighter-coloured, measuring about \ of an inch to the tips of the 

 body, and nearly ^ an inch to the top of the folded wings, and has 

 14:-jointed antennae. The soldier measures about 2 lines in length (^ of 

 an inch), and the antennae are 13-jointed. The worker is as long as the 



