BIOLOGY OF THE TERMITES OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 39 
active as soon as it emerges but remains for about a quarter of an hour in the same 
position as that in which the ecdysis occurred. During this time, however, the 
head is slowly drawn upward to its normal position and the insect finally struggles 
to its feet. Its movements are at first very awkward and uncertain but after a few 
minutes it is actively running about. As before mentioned, the greater portion of 
the wings remains closely folded together so that at first sight they appear as abnor- 
mally placed wing-pads. A close examination with a hand lens shows them to con- 
sist of the very compactly folded wing. * * * 
After these young adults have been running about for an hour or so the main portion 
of the wing begins to expand; the basal portion becomes expanded before the apical 
part begins to unfold, but the infla- 
tion gradually works toward the apex 
till the typical fully winged though 
pigmentless adult is produced. The 
wings continue to be held away from 
the body till this process is complete, 
after which they are folded from the 
base in an overlapping position over 
the abdomen. The ensuing pigmen- 
tation of the body is gradual a and 
does not appear to be affected by the 
presence or absence of light; the en- 
tire body turns black through shades 
of yellow and brown till in about 
twenty-four hours the sexually com- 
plete imago is ready for swarming. 
It will be seen that the whole pe- 
riod intervening between the normal 
nymphal stage and the typical pig- 
mentless adult staged occupies only 
some nine to ten hours, and this ap- 
parently accounts for its not having 
been recorded before, even though it 
appears to be perfectly normal, c for 
it has occurred in different localities 
in two successive years and all nymphs 
taken passed through these stages be- 
fore completing their development. 
An illustration of the thorax of Leu- 
cotermes flavipes with unexpanded 
wings was given by Packard in his 
Text-book of Entomology, but he 
here described it as a late nymphal 
wing pad, otherwise there seem to be no references to either of the stages herein fig- 
ured and described. 
Fig. 11.— Tcrmopsis angusticollis: Quiescent stage of 
nymph of the first form. Enlarged 7 times. (Original.) 
a The borders of the chitinized parts first take on pigmentation, passing through 
shades of gray to castaneous to the castaneous-black of the mature adult, the abdomen 
being the last to take on pigmentation; there are often abnormalities in development — 
T. E. S. 
b The whole period intervening between the fully developed nymph and the 
mature pigmented adult is about one day and one-half to two days for individuals, and 
about 1 week to 10 days for the colonies.— T. E. S. 
c These stages are absolutely normal and necessary to the progressive development 
of nymphs of species of both the genera Leucotermes (I. Jlavipes and virginicus) and 
Termopsis (angusticollis) (fig. 11). — T. E. S. 
62896 a -^Bull. 94, pt 2—15 — -3. 
