TERMITES FROM THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 
Legs . — Short and moderately stout, with very few setae excepting 
at apical fourth of tibiae. Spurs and claws short and stout. 
Abdomen. -Widest in the middle, bluntly pointed at the apex ; 
moderately setaceous, most of the setae very short and fine. Cerci 
and styli as in soldier. 
M easurenmUs.— 
Large form. 
Small form. 
mm. 
mm. 
T’otal length 
3 -50-4 -GO 
.. 2-90-3-20 
Head, to apex of labruni, long. . 
,, to cly])eofrontal suture. 
O- 97-1 -00 
0-85 
long 
0-52-0 -68 
0-40 
,, wide 
0-85 
0-73 
Antennae, long 
0-93 
Pronotum, long 
0-25 
!! 0-17-0-19 
,, wide 
0-55 
.. 0-42-0-44 
bia iii, long , . 0 
•56-0 -62 
.. 0-45 
/yom/.fiyy.- -Northern Territory : Darwin (type locality), Stapleton, 
Brock’s Creek, Melville Island, Daly River District ((f.F.H.), (?) Droote 
Eylandt, (?) Maria Island, (?) Connexion Island (N. B. Tindale). 
A ffinities.^ ’Phe imago, as stated in the description, is very closely 
allied to M. farvicefs Mjiib. ; it resembles, also, M. sermtus (Frogg.), 
but the latter is more hairy, darker in (’ohmr, has darker, longer and 
relatively narrower wings, different wing micrasters and differently 
shaped pronotum. The soldier is quite distinct from Froggatt’s 
species ; it has, however, some resemblance to M. newmani, n. sp., 
but it is larger and has a distinctly different shaped head, mandibles 
and gula. Professor Holmgren, who has compared M. nernosus with 
the types of M. papumms Holmgr., from New (luinea, notes the 
following differences : “ The head of the soldier of pa'pumms is 
broader and covered with hairs, not very densely but over the whole 
surface. In your specimens there are a few pairs of hairs to be 
seen as the head is viewed from the side. The imago of 'papuanus 
is darker coloured and more hairy and is, also, a little larger.” 
Biology. — Described from a complete nest-series from a small 
pointed termitarium about 12 inches in height which was built over 
and around a large bamboo cut-off about 9 inches from the ground. 
Alate imagos and many first-form nymphs were present in the nest 
(28.9.14). The following field notes refer to some of the additional 
32 colonies collected by the writer : (1) Darwin, 5.10.15. A com- 
plete series from a sinall woody termitarium built against the trunk 
of an introduced ornamental tree. Alate imagos very numerous. 
No rain fell in this locality during past several months. Second- 
form nymphs were taken from a similar nest in this vicinity on 
I 76 1 
