BIOLOGY OF THE TERMITES OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. 49 
After the adults have flown a short distance in an irregular 
" wobbly" manner, they fall to the ground, and by catching the 
tips of the wings against some object and turning sideways they 
pry them off at a suture or line of weakness near the base, leaving 
stubs. This triangular, basal portion of the wing, or stub, is thick- 
ened and more chitinized than the wing and is also pubescent up to 
the suture, a possible aid in breaking off the wing after flight. 
The male follows the female tirelessly and persistently, with head 
close to her abdomen, and touches her abdomen with the antennae. 
Often the male and female run in a circle of small diameter, and 
sometimes the pursued turns pursuer, apparently attracted by some 
secretion at the posterior end of the body. a Sometimes as many 
as three individuals may be seen running off together. This is 
apparently due to sexual attraction, an amatory procedure pre- 
liminary to pairing, which accomplishes the purpose of bringing 
the sexes together. This continues for several days after the flight. 
The sexes are attracted to each other at a period several days before 
swarming, as is evidenced by the fact that when a colony is broken 
into there is a short flight, followed by loss of the wings, after which 
the male follows the female in the same manner as after normal 
swarming. 
Neither of the terms " swarm" or " nuptial flight" is appropri- 
ate in referring to the emergence of the colonizing sexed adult 
termites, since the insects after a short flight separate into pairs, 
or the males and females may even "pair" (but do not "mate" 
sexually till later) with individuals of other colonies, and never con- 
gregate again in the same colony, but form many new colonies. In 
the case of bees, on the contrary, after the swarm subsides the insects 
all together form one new colony. Furthermore, copulation does 
not take place at the time of the swarm, which is not a "nuptial 
flight." 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW COLONIES. 
Many investigators have considered that the foundation of new 
colonies by winged sexed adults was impossible, and was not the 
purpose of the swarm, but Ferris (1876), Perez (1894), and Heath 
(1903) disproved this. 
For several days after swarming the now wingless sexed adults 
can commonly be found together under small pieces of decaying 
wood, lying on the ground, ultimately disappearing, either to excavate 
shallow cells in the ground, in decaying wood (PI. XII, fig. 1, b), or to 
take possession of an old abandoned insect burrow. The entrance 
to this now royal cell is but slightly wider than the abdomen. It 
a Heath, H. The habits of California termites. Biol. Bui., v. 4, no. 2, p. 47-63, 
figs. 3, January, 1903. See p. 54. 
