ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



forty-five species have been found within a mile 

 of the station. In one ten-foot square of aver- 

 age jungle taken haphazardly I have found fif- 

 teen colonies of three different species, and in a 

 similar square nearby I have found four differ- 

 ent species in five colonies. The presence of 

 these termites would have been unnoticed by the 

 casual observer, no nest being visible. 



There are. however, large conspicuous nests 

 upon the sides of trees, often far up among the 

 branches. Large covered passageways lead 

 from the nest to the ground and to the dead 

 branches in the trees. Some of these nests are 

 of considerable size, reaching a height of five 

 feet, with a diameter of three or four feet. 

 These large nests contain from two hundred 

 thousand to five hundred thousand individuals, 

 all of which are nymphs or sterile workers and 

 soldiers, with the exception of one king and one 

 queen which reproduce for the entire colony. 

 A queen which was procured from one of these 

 large nests was about an inch in length with a 

 greatly enlarged abdomen. I kept her eighteen 

 hours, during which time she laid two thousand, 

 nine hundred and thirty-eight eggs. This makes 

 an average of two and three-fourths a minute 

 or about four thousand a day. 



Queens over two inches in length have been 

 procured near the station. The royal couple 

 occupied a large cell near the center of the nest. 

 From this cell passageways extended in all di- 

 rections through which the workers pass as they 

 carry eggs to adjoining cells. In contrast to 

 the thick-walled interior of the nest, the out- 

 side is of a flimsy construction with a shell-like 

 •covering. The nest was defended by a large 

 number of soldiers with a long pointed conical 



projection on each of their heads. They eject 

 a strong smelling sticky fluid from these projec- 

 tions. These soldiers lack conspicuous mandi- 

 bles, but soldiers of other species possess large 

 mandibles of a great variety of form. These 

 exhibit remarkable adaptations. Several species 

 have asymmetrical mandibles which they sua]) 

 as we snap our fingers. These are not used for 

 biting, but are adapted for snapping, the soldier 

 being able to jump four or five inches by this 

 action. The typical soldier, however, uses its 

 mandibles for biting, some of them being able to 

 draw blood. A few species lack soldiers alto- 

 gether while others lack the caste of workers. 



Termites are used as food by a large number 

 of jungle animals. A small anteater. brought 

 in by our Indian hunter, had eaten one hundred 

 and fifty thousand termites of two species, and 

 lizards, frogs, spiders, ants, wasps, fish, and 

 birds have been observed to feed on both the 

 winged forms during the swarming flight and 

 upon the wingless soldiers, workers and nymphs. 



The nests are used for cover and protection 

 by a host of animals. We found one nest with 

 six large lizard eggs in the center almost ready 

 to hatch. Many insects use the nest for shelter, 

 but most interesting of all. are the true guests 

 which live with the termites, feeding upon waste 

 matter, dead termites, and even preying upon 

 the live ones. Several orders of insects are 

 represented as guests, the most common of which 

 are beetles. Some of these insects mimic the 

 termites in a remarkable manner. 



Practically nothing, as yet. is known con- 

 cerning the life histories and associations of 

 these tropical species and many of them are 

 undoubtedly wholly new to science. 



MAJOR W. REID BLAIR. I). V. S. 



By W, T. Hopxaday. 



THE most important contribution of the 

 Zoological Park to the war was Major 

 W. R. Blair. D.V.S. 

 Immediately following America's declar ition 

 of a state of war with Germany the greatly val- 

 ued and highly esteemed veterinary surgeon of 

 the Zoological Park at once offered his services 

 to the War Department. In view of the great 

 number of horses certain to he required by our 

 army in France, and the high cost of placing 

 them there, their conservation became a matter 

 of prime importance. It was said that the av- 

 erage life of a horse in the French army, in the 

 real zone of war. was about five days ! 



Dr. Blair's extensive experience in the treat- 

 ment of animal wounds and diseases constituted 

 an asset of pronounced value, and it was a pleas- 

 ure to observe that this fact commanded imme- 

 diate recognition and respect. 



The following record of Dr. Blair's enlist- 

 ment and services in the army is copied from 

 the Journal of the American Veterinary Medi- 

 cal Association for July, 1919: 



"Major Blair was commissioned in the Veter- 

 inary Corps on November 28, 1917, ordered 

 to temporary duty in the Surgeon General's 

 Office on December 19, 1917, and on December 

 22, 1917. was ordered to Cam]) Lee. Va.. for the 



