TERMITES PROM THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 
Biology species was described from a small colony of 
soldiers and workers taken under a coconut lying u])on the ground. 
'Idle alate form described above was taken (.‘10.10.14) in the same 
locality from a termitarium of M. nervosus. 'Idle nest, which was 
situated on a rocky ridge, was a tyjiical examjile for the species 
and contained numerous heads of soldiers and workers of the original 
occupants, most of wdiicli were found in disused galleries near the 
apex of the structure. The present species {M. nanus), which was 
represented by a fairly numerous colony of soldiers, workers and 
alate imagos, shared the lower half of the nest with an equally 
numerous colony of soldiers and workers of Mirotennes sunferi, n. sji. 
Another colony, containing soldiers, workers and nymphs, was found 
in the vicinity of the above (9.9. Id) in an occupied termitarium of 
Mirofermes melvillensis Hill. In this instance, too, the. little Micm- 
cerotermes appeared to be the aggressors, since the greater ])art of 
the nest was in their possession and there were may heads of the 
original occupants stored in the disused galleries. The termitarium 
which was built in a cluster of giant bamboos, was 14 inches high 
and of irregular shape owing to its lateral extension amongst the 
adjacent bamboos. 
A (i) variety of this species occurs in a collection of termites 
made by Eev. G. A. Luscombe on Baidcs Island, 'rorres Strait. The 
alate form is not available for comparison, but a first-form queen 
differs from the type series in the following res])ects Slightly 
larger ; labrum yellow ; paljii, atennae, legs and wing-stumps clay 
colour ; pronotum and tergites of abdomen Sudan brown ; post- 
clypeus not so convex and shorter (typical — O' 204 long by O' 340 
wide; variety O' 170 long) ; antennae with 4th joint very little 
larger than 3rd, with which it is fused. The measurements of the 
island form (queen) are as follows ; 
mm. 
Total lengTh . . . . . . . . . . 15'50 
Head, from base to apex of labrum, long .. .. O' 91 
,, to clypeofrontal suture, long . . . . O' 68 
,, wide . . . . . . . . . . O' 74 
Pronotum, long . . . . . . . . 0 ' 34 
,, wide .. .. .. .. O' 58 
Tibia iii, long . . . . . . • . . ■ 0 ' 64 
Abdomen, wide . . . . . . . 3 '00 
'ITie soldiers associated with the above differ appreciably from 
the typical form in both size and shape of the head (cf. Figs. 69 
and 70), the former being longer, wider and more rounded on the 
sides, but the gula is alike. The form of the antennae appears to 
be fairly constant in the variety (3rd joint smallest, sometimes more 
or less fused with 4th ; 5th to 8th increasing in size progressively) ; 
but in the typical form the above segmentation occurs rarely, the 
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