TERMITES IE" THE CANAL ZONE AND PANAMA. 17 



These termites were also very abundant on fence posts along the 

 same road on July 26. Hardly any posts were without their galleries 

 and in many cases had carton nests as well. Soldiers in the main 

 were seen and there were no queens. 



Zetek and Molino found N asutitermes comigera in a wine palm 

 (Acrocomia vinifera) at Ancon Hospital on October 26, 1921. These 

 termites were very abundant throughout the wood of the trunk and 

 along the midrib of fronds. Soldiers came out rapidly when the 

 trunk was tapped with a piece of wood. Small nestlike structures 

 were found sheltered by the pieces of leaves and bark, as also nests at 

 the base of leaves ; all these were soft and crumbly in texture. 



On November 3, 1921, a nest of N asutitermes comigera was found 

 in Ficus crassiuscuJa at Ancon Hospital, Canal Zone. The nasuti 

 were very abundant. 



A termitarium of this species was found in the top of a jobo tree 

 (Spondias lutea L.) at Ancon Hospital, Canal Zone, on November 

 23, 1921. Galleries, which were fairly straight, were abundant, 

 the narrowest one being about three-eighths of an inch wide, the 

 largest 2 inches broad by one-half inch thick. The small ones joined 

 to form wide ones. In the galleries nasuti or soldiers were very 

 abundant and workers very few. This termite has a very pungent, 

 disagreeable odor. When the soldiers were grasped or touched 

 they emitted a milky fluid from the opening of the frontal gland or 

 end of the nasus or beak. In many cases this shot out into space 

 as a small droplet, the distance it was propelled in many cases being 

 1 foot. It did not seem to have any irritating effect on the skin. 



At Miraflores, on November 29, 1921, Zetek and Molino found a 

 termitarium of Nasutitermes comigera on a tree on a small island 

 near the locks. This termitarium was 12 inches by 18 inches in 

 dimensions and had numerous galleries along neighboring branches 

 (PI. IX, A). Nasuti were very abundant in it. Zetek found it to 

 be very hard and difficult to break up, although the machete he 

 used was sharp and some impression could be made upon it with 

 every cut. At the third blow, however, the machete glanced off and 

 just missed badly cutting his foot. 



On February 4, 1922, at Frijoles, Canal Zone, Zetek took an in- 

 teresting photograph (PI. IX, F) of a gallery of Nasutitermes 

 comigera on an avocado limb, showing the work of a girdling beetle, 

 Tr achy dares subpilosus Bates. 



A nest of this species in process of construction was found on 

 April 1, 1922, in an avocado tree on Taboga Island, Kepublic of 

 Panama. 



From the foregoing it will be seen that Nasutitermes comigera 

 builds its carton nests in a variety of trees and is an injurious ter- 

 mite. 



SWARMING. 



Winged adults of N asutitermes comigera were collected flying in 

 a house in Chitre, Republic of Panama, during the afternoon of 

 May 7, 1922, during a heavy rain — the first of the rainy season at 

 this locality. 



71724°— 24 2 



