50 SUMMARY OF CURRENT RESEARCHES RELATING TO 



The seeds of Melampyrum pratense are, as Liindstrom has recently 

 pointed out, closely similar to the pupae of ants, and he has suggested 

 that this may be an advantage to the plant by deceiving the ants, and 

 thus inducing them to carry oflf and so disseminate the seeds. The 

 author's own observations show that Formica fusca appears to take no 

 notice of these seeds, but that, under certain circumstances, they are 

 carried off by Lasius niger. 



The observations of Mr. and Mrs. Peckham on the special senses of 

 wasps is referred to as containing conclusions which concur closely with 

 those of Sir J. Lubbock. 



A connected account of the author's observations is given in a recent 

 work, ' On the Senses, Instincts, and Intelligence of Animals, with special 

 reference to Insects,'* which will be found useful as a handbook of the 

 subject with which it deals. 



Termites.f — Prof. B. Grassi resumes the principal results of his 

 observations on termites. (1) The nests of Calotermes contain indi- 

 viduals perfectly winged from the middle of July to the middle of 

 November. The winged members are scarce in July, more so in 

 November, but abundant in August and September. It seems evident 

 that they do not leave the nest all at once. (2) About the middle of 

 March, he found a nest of two individuals, male and female, without 

 wings, and along with a number of eggs. (3) King, queen, and eggs of 

 Calotermites, are usually found, with nymphs and soldiers, in the middle 

 of June, in a dilatation of a gallery. (4) In care for the eggs and in 

 other ways, Termes lucifugus appears to occupy a higher level than 

 Calotermes. Both are inferior to bees in recognition of strangers. 

 (5) The galleries of the Calotermites afford indication of the length of 

 life of the colony inhabiting them. (6) Grassi has not been able to 

 distinguish among Calotermites, either the nymphs of the second kind, 

 or Fritz Miiller's substitution queens. The characters of the in- 

 dividuals observed are discussed in detail. (7) From November to the 

 end of June, the nests of Termes lucifugus appear to be without king or 

 queen, and without eggs. (8) Various cases of termite habitations are 

 discussed. (9) Facts are given to show that the termites swarm after 

 the manner of bees, and that they make great preparations for swarming. 

 Other interesting notes are communicated, proving the patient zeal of 

 the observer. 



Replacement of King and ftueen of Termites.f — Prof. B. Grassi 

 has made some further observations on Termes lucifugus. He finds that 

 a colony which has been deserted provides itself with a fresh royal pair 

 by accelerating the maturation of the generative organs of a certain 

 number of individuals which are capable of becoming winged imagines ; 

 this is probably effected by means of special food ; the generative organs 

 mature while the other important characteristics of the imago (espe- 

 cially the wings) develope much more slowly or do not appear at all. In 

 this way individuals with ripe generative organs, but wanting the other 

 marks of the adult, are raised to the royal throne. The individuals 

 selected are probably those which, at the time of desertion, have their 

 generative organs beet developed. While the honey-bees have the 



* 8vo, London, 1888, 292 pp. (118 figs.). 



t Bull. Soc. Entom. Ital., xix. (1887) pp. 75-80. 



X Zool. Anzeig., xi. (1888) pp. 615-8. 



