Natural-History Collectors. 4551 



bear him particularly in mind in collecting the ants and bees : of the 

 CEcodema, since I have received his note, I have found two species 

 quite different from the true cephalotes, and I think it likely I may 

 add immensely to the number of species of ants. The Eulaima I now 

 know very well, and shall procure males and females of every species. 

 One species, I believe, makes its nest in wood : the Mesopliae and 

 Mesocheirae of St. F. are very likely parasites on them. In the cy- 

 clicous Coleoptera I will also bear him in mind : it was a favourite group 

 with me last year, as I drew up a careful analytical description of all the 

 generic forms — a mass of manuscript, with brief characters of about 

 400 species : although they are the only Coleoptera here one may call 

 abundant in individuals, many of them (especially the Megalopi and 

 Megaceles) require a long time to get a tolerable set of. Mr. Wallace, 

 I suppose, will be off ere this, therefore next month will do to reply to 

 his kind letter. I hope somebody will send me a copy of his other 

 book, the Voyage. The Palms I have now two copies of, and it is 

 really a very correct, useful book on the class. I can add many 

 species, however, to his list, and I doubt not Mr. Spruce could dou- 

 ble it. It is curious that two months before receiving your last letter 

 I had been attending to the Termites. I began first to look for M. 

 Schiodte's new Staphylini and ended by becoming greatly interested 

 in the Termites, without, however, finding the Staphylini. Some of 

 the results of my examination up to the present date I intend to send 

 you on separate sheets. The specimens will follow next month. I 

 have examined about 100 colonies: some of the results I have come 

 to are, that there are no truly apterous imagos; that there are only 

 two kinds of larvae, fighters and workers; that a large hillock is always 

 an agglomeration of many very distinct species which build with very 

 different materials; that some species cherish only one female and one 

 male adult in a colony, whilst others have a great number, 50 or 100 

 adults, the male and female in about equal numbers. Lastly, I have 

 detected a very good character to distinguish male and female in the 

 pupa and adult states. 1 have found pupae in various stages of 

 growth or ecdysis, without, however, as yet, detecting the first moult 

 from the larva to the pupa, to decide what becomes of the monstrous 

 apophyses of the head and the mandibles of the soldier (fighter) 

 larva. My remaining collections I will send next month, just before I 

 leave for the Upper Amazons, which I expect will be early in May. 

 The Cattleya, &c, I will look for when 1 get to a good place for 

 them. 1 understand the business, I think, quite sufficiently. You 

 make me very envious in only speaking of the Morpho Cvpris, &c, of 



