1986] Luykx, Michel, & Luykx — Incisitermes 357 
nymphs over a wider number of segments than the late-stage 
nymphs (Fig. 3). The variance in position of the members of a caste 
can be used as a measure of the dispersion or aggregation of that 
caste, and then compared with the position-variance for all the 
members of all the major castes of the colony taken together. In 
colony PL487, for example, the ratio of the caste variance to total 
colony variance was 1.30, 0.80, 0.52, and 0.40, for the workers, 
early-stage nymphs, late-stage nymphs, and alates, respectively. A 
summary of all variance ratios for all seven of the colonies with 
nymphs or alates is given in Fig. 4. 
There was no regularity in the mean positions of the major castes 
in relation to each other nor in relation to the top or bottom of the 
colony. In several colonies (e.g., PL482, Fig. 3), the mean position 
of the nymphs was higher than that of the workers, but just as often 
the reverse was true. In colonies PL482 and PL487, the mean posi- 
of the early-stage nymphs was between that of the workers and 
of the late-stage nymphs, but in colony PL486 it was below that of 
those two castes. Neither was the mean position of alates (in the 
three colonies that had alates) consistent in relation to that of the 
other major castes. 
The mean position of the soldiers, however, with the exception of 
those in colony PL477, was always above that for the bulk of the 
colony (e.g., colony PL482, Fig. 1). This makes sense in terms of the 
function of soldiers in defending the colony, for the wood in the 
upper part of the colonies is generally more deteriorated than that 
lower down, and presumably more susceptible to invasion by 
predators. 
Six of the 9 colonies— PL476, PL477, PL480, PL486, PL487, and 
PL490 — had bimodal distributions (Fig. 1). There was no clear or 
consistent difference between the top and bottom groups in total 
numbers of termites nor in overall caste composition in any of these 
colonies. (The excess numbers of nymphs and alates in the bottom 
groups of PL480 and PL486 are probably a secondary effect of the 
tendency of these castes to clump together.) 
Discussion 
The association of larvae with the reproductives has been casually 
noted by many students of the Kalotermitidae, but has not been 
