618 The American Naturalist. [July,. 
Termite Societies.—Professor B. Grassi and Dr. A. Sandias have 
investigated the nature and origin of the Termite society in Calotermes 
flavicollis and Termes lucifugus. A Calotermes colony may include 
(a) indifferent larve, capable of becoming soldiers or sexual members; 
(b) larvee and pups of sexual members with rudiments of wings; (c) 
soldier larvee and soldiers which may arise from a and b; (d) winged 
sexual insects: (e) a true royal pair with vestiges of wings; (f) larve 
of ‘reserve’ sexual members and the reserve kings and queens which 
arise from these. These last larve may be developed from a or from 
various stages of b. 
n the Termes nest there is a specigl caste of workers and no dis- 
tinetive royal pair. The society includes (a) very young indifferent 
larvz; (b) larger larvæ and the workers and soldiers to which they 
give rise; (c) winged sexual animals; (d) various stages of reserve and 
complementary sexual animals. 
The one type, that illustrated by Calotermes, is founded by a king 
and queen, who may be replaced by a pair of reserve royal individuals, 
i.e. by a ‘neotznic’ couple. The second less primitive type, illus- 
trated by Termes, contains several ‘ neotznic' couples, while kings are 
only temporary; in this ease the nest arises in a secession from an 
older colony. : 
One of the most interestsng results concerns the influence of nutri- 
tion in producing polymorphism. Thus the reserve sexual members 
are fed not only in the larval state but afterwards from salivary 
secretion only, a nutritive diet which probably hastens the rapid devel- 
opment of the reproductive system.—Journal Royal Mieroscopical 
Society. 
Habits of the Lering Ant of Southern Georgia.—In the 
pine forests upon the sandy loam of Thomas County, near Thomas- 
ville, Georgia, I discovered a nest of Atta brunnea (Odontomachus 
brunneus Roger.) No hillocks were formed, the openings to the gal- 
leries in the earth being at the surface level. The aperture was large 
enough to have allowed queens as large as those of Oecodoma to have 
passed, the workers (the only sex observed) of brunnea being much 
smaller. The workers jump several inches when disturbed, the leap 
being backwards and being caused by snapping the mandibles to- 
gether. 
The cocoon contains the pupa of the worker in September. 
ATTA BRUNNEA (Roger). Georgia. 
A. (0.) hematodes (L.) of the West Indies may prove to be a 
ety of this. 
