196 



PRELIMINARY NOTE ON ANOTHER WHITE ANT 

 CAUSING DAMAGE TO NEW CLEARINGS. 



Some cases have recently been brought to the notice of the 

 Department of Agriculture, F.M.S., Kuala Lumpur, in which Termes 

 carbonarhis has been found killing newly planted stumps by stripping 

 them of their bark. 



Up to-.the present this has onl}^ been noticed on old tapioca 

 estates. 



These termites were previously considered harmless and it is 

 important to find out as soon as possible how far their ravages have 

 been noticed elsewhere. 



Termes carbonarius may be distinguished from other " White 

 Ants " or Termites, as they are more correctly called, by the large 

 size and sooty colouring of the soldiers. 



The soldiers of this species are of tw^o kinds ; the larger over half 

 an inch long including the mandibles or nippers, which can inflict an 

 unpleasant bite; the smaller, about three eighths of an iqch. 



The mandibles are curved upwards to the tips and do not possess 

 teeth between the base and the tip. 



The queen is as large as that of Termes Malayanus, attaining a 

 length of one and three quarter inches. These Termites are often 

 found in the same nest as Termes sulphureus, the little sulphur yellow 

 species, which lives in hard cased mounds sometimes five feet high. 

 The queen of T sulphureus averages only one and a quarter inch in 

 length, 



Termes sulphureus and carbonarius are both described in books as 

 harmless being fungus (or "mould") eaters. The fungus grows on 

 cakes or masses of vegetable matter which are stored in specia 

 chambers in the nest. 



Up to now analyses of these masses have failed to show any 

 traces of rubber, but further samples are wanted for analysis with 

 notes of the depth at which they are found, as those examined may 

 only have been collected by Termes sulphureus. 



If Termes carbonarius makes a separate nest, it has not yet been 

 described. 



The stumps are reported to be attacked at night and in the early 

 morning after and during rainy weather. 



This would be a dangerous pest to young estates, but for the fact 

 that the nest of Termes sulphureus, which it inhabits, is easily found 

 on well weeded estates and the inmates, both sulphureus and carbonarius, 

 can be easily killed with the fumes of arsenic and sulphur applied 

 through the nozzle of the Universal White Ant Exterminator. 



