364 ME. a. D. HATILAND ON TEEMITES. 



from which she is too large to escape, a familiarity with the 

 nest and habits of the species will lead to her discovery without 

 much trouble ; but in all species other than the fungus-growers 

 the king can leave the rojal cell, and generally does so when he 

 finds the nest is being opened. In many species, however, the 

 queen wanders about the nest, and she then seeks, like the 

 king, to avoid observation wheu the nest is being opened. In 

 such cases there is only one way of searching methodically for 

 her. Remove the nest with as little disturbance as possible to a 

 convenient place free from the attacks of ants, a large table with 

 its feet standing in water is the best place. Break the nest into 

 fragments, remove each fragment one by one, examine it carefully, 

 and put it aside in a safe place so that the search may, if 

 necessary, be gone through a second time. If the nest has been 

 broken into fragments before it has been much disturbed, the 

 king will be found in the same fr;igment as the queen. If the 

 nest be broken into fragments gradually, the king, if found at all, 

 will generally be found in the fragment last examined. The 

 longest time I spent searching through one nest was three days. 

 I found a king ; the queen escaped me, but I feel confident that 

 was due to my own want of care, and she was really there. 



I have found colonies which I believed to be through some 

 accident queenless ; and there are no doubt species in which 

 a single colony owns several nests ; but the rule is that every 

 nest has a true royal pair. I have found as many as six true 

 royal pairs ; they were, as is always the case, in the sapie 

 royal cell, their tarsi were injured, presumably as the result of 

 quarrelling. 



When there is a true queen, she is, so far as my observations 

 s>o, always accompanied by a true king. When there is more 

 tnan one true queen, the number of true kings is generally equal 

 Eu them ; but often it is less, and occasionally it is greater. The 

 king has no copulatory organs ; from Prof. Gri^assi's observations 

 it is probable that in Calolermes copulation nevertheless does 

 take place. In Termes malayanus I have reason to think that 

 the king fertilizes the eggs after they are laid ; indeed, copu- 

 lation in the case of kings and fully-grown queens of most 

 species of the genus Termes is apparently impossible. 



I raised neoteinic forms artificially in two species of Calotermes. 

 In species of tlie fungus-growers neoteinic forms have never 

 been found. In five cases I removed the royal pairs from nests 



