TERMITES IN THE CANAL ZONE AND PANAMA. 5 



at Las Sabanas, which is the " summer " section for the fairly well- 

 to-do Panamans, where they have their cottages and much land, they 

 are a great nuisance. The native Panamans go to Las Sabanas after 

 the carnivals ii these are held early in the year, i. e., at the commence- 

 ment of Lent. If the Lenten season begins late, they go as soon as 

 the dry season begins, and for the carnival season return to their 

 city homes. As soon as the rains start, these " palomitas " 4 begin 

 to appear and the people take their presence as a warning to 

 return to the city, as rains are coming fast. Those who heed not 

 this warning find that they must eat early and hurriedly and even 

 then it is a battle with these clumsy insects. The people say these 

 winged termites " drive them crazy," and they certainly make them 

 more nervous and increase their neurasthenia ; the hurried eating 

 and constant thought of the pests, fighting them off, or dishing them 

 out of the soup or sancocho, produce marked digestive disturbances. 



KALOTERMES TABOGAE Snyder. 



Specimens of Kalotermes collected at Panama at first appeared 

 to be identical with K. margmipennis Latreille, which occurs in the 

 southwestern United States; nevertheless, it is a new species. K. 

 tabogae works in dry woodwork and is destructive. As in the case 

 of species of Cryptotermes. its presence can be recognized by the im- 

 pressed pellets of excrement expelled from infested wood, as well 

 as by the small round holes in the wood — entrance and exit tunnels. 

 These pellets are called " carcoma " in Spanish, and furniture so 

 destroyed is said to be "carcomido." In the majority of cases the 

 native does not recognize this as termite (comejen) work, but thinks 

 that it is caused by a different insect which he terms " carcoma," and 

 until this fine distinction in terms is learned an argument is the 

 usual result. 



Very probably much damage to woodwork credited to this species 

 in the past, before the identity of other and new species was recog- 

 nized, was caused by other species, especially those of the genus 

 Cryptotermes. 



At Taboga Island, Kepublic of Panama, on March 30, 1922, Zet'ek 

 collected winged sexual adults of Kalotermes tabogae attracted to 

 a lighted kerosene lamp. At that date the dry season was at about 

 its height. The rainfall record (in inches) for 1922 was as follows : 

 January 1, 0.45; 2, 0.35; 3, 0.13; 9, 0.10; 17, 0.07; 23, 0.10; 31, 0.04 

 (an excess of 0.81 inch over station average). February 8, 0.06; 17, 

 0.09; 21, 0.10; 22, 0.02; 26, 0.20 (an excess of 0.31 inch over station 

 average). March 21, 0.03 (a deficiency of 0.08- inch over station aver- 

 age). April 7, 0.08; 9, 0.09 (a deficiency of 1.12 inches over station 

 average). 



Of course, species of the family Kalotermitidae do not depend so 

 much upon moisture for their existence as do termites of the other 

 families. 



At Ancon Hospital grounds, Ancon. Canal Zone, on June 19, 1922, 

 Zetek and Molino collected dealated adults in a dead tree on which 

 there was loose bark perforated with numerous holes of a scolytid 

 beetle. The termites were in burrows identical with those of the 



4 "Palomitas de San Juan " is the full native name for any dark-colored flying termites. 



