18, 3 
Light: Notes on Philippine Termites, I 
255 
ippine material in connection with numerous species from the 
Malay Archipelago and adjacent regions. Oshima is also an 
authority on Formosan and Japanese termites and hence we 
should expect little overlapping of specific diagnoses with that 
region. 
Judging from the fact that most termite species have a com- 
paratively limited range, we should expect collections made from 
the central area of the Archipelago to yield a high percentage of 
endemic species. That not only the percentage of new species but 
the actual number of such species is high indicates that the Islands 
have a remarkably rich termite fauna. 
The species are distributed as follows : 
Luzon 
Laguna Province 
Manila and Rizal Province * 
Bulacan Province 
Panay 
Antique Province 
Capiz Province 
Batbatan Island 
Romblon 
Palawan 
Sulu Islands 
a The city of Manila belongs naturally with Rizal Province and 
questions of distribution. 
The numbers for the different provinces and islands are not, of 
course, an index of the number of termite species to be found in 
them, but are merely an indication of the amount of collecting 
done. The figures are given in order to form a starting point for 
further investigation. Nineteen species are so far known from 
Luzon only, four from Panay only, and one from the Sulu Islands 
only. Eight species are reported from both Panay and Luzon; 
one from Panay, Romblon, and Luzon ( Microcerotermes los- 
banosensis Oshima) ; and one from Palawan, Panay, and Luzon 
( Termes ( Macrotermes ) copelancli Oshima) . These would seem 
to be our commonest and most- widespread species, but further 
study may show them to be polyspecific groups. The former is a 
nest-building form, and the latter builds large, low, clay or 
earthen mounds. It is possible that the former will be found 
to consist of a number of closely related species, as Haviland 
suggests of the corresponding Borneo and Malay Archipelago 
forms. Furthermore, the Macrotermes groups will require very 
extensive and intensive study before we can diagnose the 
species with certainty. 
12 
will be bo considered 
