GEOLOGIC WORK OF ANTS—BRANNER. 321 
the Estancia and Caboclo shales; next to these the granites seem to 
have the biggest nests.” 
I infer that the smaller number of the mounds on the sandy soil is 
due to the fact that during the rainy season water soaks through into 
the burrows, and the excavations do not stand up where the soil is wet. 
Thinking it possible that the exposure of the mounds or of the 
ground on which they stand to the sun might influence location and 
distribution, an outlook has been kept with these questions in mind. 
It does not appear thus far that such exposure influences the location 
or size of the mounds, even in the southern part of Brazil, where the 
sun is on the north most or all of the year. 
THE WHITE ANTS, OR TERMITES. 
GENERAI CHARACTERISTICS. 
The so-called white ants, or termites, belong to the /soptera, and are 
therefore not ants at all. They are included in this paper solely on 
account of the geologic work done by them in the Tropics, which 
bears a certain similarity to the geologic work of the true ants. 
In Brazil the white ants are commonly known by the name of 
cupym. In their habits the white ants both resemble and differ from 
the true ants. They generally avoid the light, carrying on their 
work, even when it is above ground, in galleries which they con- 
struct as they go. Their nests are sometimes attached to tree trunks 
or rocks, but they are often built directly upon the ground. Not 
infrequently these nests are as large, or even larger, than the nests of 
the true ants, but they are very different in shape and character. 
ABUNDANCE. 
Here, again, [ am unable to give anything regarding the biology of 
the white ants. 
Dr. Fritz Muller, who lived for many years in southern Brazil, 
reports 15 or 16 species of termites in that part of the country, but 
not all of these live on or in the ground. 
M. Jules Desneux, in his monograph on the Termitide, reports 45 
species from Brazil and some 15 or more from other tropical parts of 
America. 
White ants, like otner animals, are not evenly distributed in the 
tropical parts of South America. They are so much less obtrusive 
and pugnacious, however, that they do not attract the attention 
as promptly as do the true ants. 
1 For the benefit of those who areinterested in the biology of white ants I cite the following. 
K. Escherich: Die Termiten oder weissen Ameisen. Eine Biologische Studie, vol. 12, p. 198. Leipzig. 
1909. 
Genera Insectorum publies par P. Wytsman. Fasc. 25, Isoptera, fam. Termitide par Jules Desneux, 
Bruxelles, 1904. = 
38734°—sm 1911——21 
