Changes in the Life-cycle 319 
other individuals, their own saliva and that of others, and water. 
The feces form an important element in the diet. ‘When a 
calotermite wishes to feed, he accosts one of his fellows and ca- 
resses the abdomen with the antenne and palpi. If the one thus 
accosted is prepared to eliminate, he at once extrudes the scyba- 
lum from the anal aperture. The other then removes it, chiefly 
by aid of the auxiliary palpi, and usually in two operations 
separated by a short interval, drawing it at first half, and then 
completely out. He then rapidly seizes it with the mandibles, 
suspending his caresses for this purpose, and when he has 
possessed himself of it nibbles at and ingests it little by little.” 1 
Pellets can sometimes be seen in the mouth composed of re- 
gurgitated food, which is at times used for building, but may be 
seized and eaten by another individual. The saliva may be 
used either as cement in building or as food for others. It is 
given in abundance to larve that are too young to eat wood, and 
to those that are in course of becoming royal substitutes. These 
individuals, fed with saliva, “exhibit a great transparency of the 
abdomen, an indication that they are in process of becoming 
royal substitutes.” Their digestive tract contains no proto- 
zoans that are usually present in other forms. Possibly they 
have been killed by the saliva. These and other facts suggest 
that the saliva is the cause of the transformation of young ter- 
mites into substitute forms. What determines whether a young 
termite is to become a soldier or a worker is not known; but 
Grassi thinks that this difference is also determined by the food. 
These experiments and observations leave little doubt that 
the different castes of termites arise from the same kind of egg, 
and are not predetermined in the egg. Each egg has the possi- 
bility of becoming a royal form, a royal substitute, a worker, or a 
soldier. It is probable that the results depend on the amount 
or the kind of nutrition that is given to the young by the older 
members of the community. 
In the honey bee the relation between the food and the develop- 
ment of the worker and queen is better understood. It appears 
1 Translated by W. F. Blandford. 
