352 



THE ZOOLOGIST. 



about Sydney, in walking over the heights, I was much struck by 

 the curious appearance of the rocks (sandstone), which were in 

 many cases completely honeycombed. As I am always exceed- 

 ingly inquisitive about holes, I determined to " get to the bottom " 

 of the cause. Upon making enquiries amongst my naturalist 

 friends, I found that many others had noticed it, and it had been 

 the subject of a considerable amount of controversy. Most 

 seemed to favour the hypothesis that it was the work of 

 Wasps, but a few clung to the view that it was done by the 

 Termites. After a considerable amount of labour, I found that 

 the tunnelling was the work of the latter insects, as I found them 



U% 



in situ and at work.* It would seem almost incredible that 

 these little frail-looking creatures should accomplish such work 

 as this, were it not for the fact that their depredations in houses, 

 &c, are so well known. It was only quite recently that the 

 weighty and apparently solid roof of the Australian Museum at 

 Sydney was found to be in places completely honeycombed by 

 these insects. In the course of their work they had actually 

 bored through sheet-lead an eighth of an inch in thickness. Had 

 the roof collapsed there would have resulted irreparable damage. 

 The holes in the before-mentioned sandstone are beautifully 

 uniform in size, are of great symmetry, and are lined in the 



* P.L.S., N.S.W., part iii. p. 418, 1899. 



