332 
Philippine Journal of Science 
1919 
After the adults have rapidly emerged from the parent nest 
in a vast swarm and have flown a short distance in an irregular, 
wobbly manner, they fall to the ground. As soon as they reach 
the ground, they cast the wings. Then the male is attracted 
to the female and follows her tirelessly and closely, performing 
the so-called “Termiten Liebes-Spaziergang.” In this manner 
the imagoes separate into pairs and enter hiding places in order 
c to establish new colonies, usually under pieces of decay- 
ing wood, in holes and crevices in wood, or directly in 
the earth. 
In order to observe the starting of a new colony, many 
new couples were captured in glass tubes, arranged as 
shown in fig. 1. 
The bottom of a test tube, 2 by 16 centimeters, is bored 
with a capillary pore, and a piece of absorbent cotton, 
a, is inserted. Then a proper quantity of crushed clay, 
h, is placed in the tube to serve as the abode of the fu- 
ture colony ; upon this layer pieces of soft wood or cotton, 
a, are laid for food. A male and a female that have 
recently flown from the nest are now placed in the tube, 
which is tightly corked and put in a dark place. 
In order to keep captive termites in a healthy condi- 
tion, it is absolutely necessary to give them proper hu- 
midity. This is done by placing the end of the tube in 
water, thus allowing the absorbent cotton to draw a 
sufficient amount of water through the pore. As a result of 
these investigations, the following facts were determined: 
f 
Fig. 1. 
1. During the first stage of colonization both the male and the female 
are active. They forage for themselves and are equally important 
in establishing the new colony and in rearing the first brood of 
young. 
2. Egg laying in a newly established colony begins from five to thirteen 
days after the swarming. 
Table II. — Time between swarming and egg laying. 
Days after swarming. 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
Cases. 
3 
8 
10 
5 
6 
5 
3 
2 
3 
RECORDS FOR 1915. 
