163 



Such a cryptic method of destruction applies chiefly to trees be- 

 tween the age of 9 months and 3 1 years ; older trees which take a longer 

 time to devour eventually show some signs of decay. Young trees 

 also in some instances present obvious signs of attack by their trunks 

 becoming incased with mud, and in a few cases latex is seen to exude 

 from small holes made by Termes gestroi. 



Older trees which are affected may often be detected by this latter 

 indication. Latex either exuding from small holes and trickling down 

 the trunk, or large lumps of latex coagulated on the exterior of the tree, 

 or latex coagulated and resting behind the bark are almost invariably 

 indications that Termes gestroi is at work. It has been mentioned to 

 me by several planters that it is their belief the large excrescences 

 (spheroblasts) prevalent in some trees are due to termites. This idea 

 however is erroneous; the warts having nothing to do with Termite 

 attack. The " White Ant Coolies " in an Estate informed the Superin- 

 tendent that they were able to detect a hollow tree by the sound 

 produced when the tree was struck with an axe. I am anable to 

 verify this statement and do not believe that such a method would 

 enable any one to detect a hollow tree unless the whole of the interior 

 had been devoured leaving but a mere outer shell. Whether Termes 

 gestroi attacks trees from the inside or from the outside appears to 

 have given rise to some discussion. Any boring insect must necessarily 

 in the first instance enter from the outside, but the question seems to 

 have arisen whether they first make their way to the centre of the tree, 

 and from there work outwards, or whether the commence from the 

 outside and work towards the centre. I have made careful observation 

 on this point, and it is obvious to me that Termese gestroi does not con- 

 fine itself to one or the other of these methods, but carries on its des- 

 tructive work from both the outside and the inside. There is however 

 very little importance in this question as far as preventative measures 

 are concerned. 



No special place is selected by T. gestroi for effecting an entrance 

 into the rubber tree. The lateral roots are much favoured for making 

 their approach burrows, and these latter are often to be found just 

 under the bark of the former, especially with older trees is this the case 

 and ought to prove a useful means of locating the burrows. Occasion- 

 ally the tunnels go straight to the tap root into which Termes gestroi 

 eventually makes its way. 



Although Termes gestroi does not always make its initial attack 

 from below ground this method is undoubtedly commoner that the 

 one in which the tree becomes encased with mud and is attacked 

 from above ground. 



It may perhaps be imagined that the reverse of this is the case 

 because the majority of affected trees are in the first instance discovered 

 by the presence of an outer casing of mud. 



Usually however this mud encasement is what might be termed a 

 secondary attack for if the earth be removed from the roots it will be 

 seen that the Termite has been at work for some considerable time, and 

 probably the roots have already been devoured, or the tree may even 

 be hollowed out. The appearance of T. gestroi above ground is in 

 most instances attributable to a series of heavy rains, and when these 



