372 
J. DESNEUX 
qual. Labrum small, white, with two small acute lobes. Pronotum 
narrower than the head, saddle-shaped, the anterior lobe convex, eleva¬ 
ted. Abdomen elongate, ovate, coloured by the intestinal contents. The 
hind legs reach to the apex of the body. Styli absent. 
Worker . 4 mm. long. Head pale, yellowish, rounded. Antennæ 
short, of 14 segments, the 2nd longer than the 3rd which is small and 
subequal to the 4th. Epistoma not very prominent. Pronotum nar¬ 
rower than the head, saddle-shaped. Abdomen ovoid, coloured grey by 
the intestinal contents. Legs white, the hind ones not reaching to the 
apex of the abdomen. The apical tooth of the mandibles distinctly larger 
than the following. 
New Guinea: Sattelberg, 1898. 
«The large nests of this Termite are not uncommon on the Sattel- 
berg at a height of 800—900 meters. 
They form conical mounds 30—40 cm. high, built on the ground in 
thick dark forests, and composed of solid blackish material, with very nu¬ 
merous chambers and passages. 
Around the nests I often saw traces of groups of Talegalius birds 
which, it appears, look for the Termites as a delicacy. 
When I dug up one of the nests, I noticed further that it was built 
at a depth of about 1 /s meter below the ground, where it widened horizontally. 
The material of which these dwellings are composed, is the same in 
the underground portion as the exterior, i. e. a blackish substance apparently 
of dead vegetable matter well mixed with soil, which burns easily, leaving 
plenty of ash. This material floats on water and is formed of proctodeal 
discharges, consequently, digested matter. 
The interior of the nest is always dry, although found in the damp 
ground of the forest. 
The workers defend themselves well against the small ants : they dis¬ 
charge their saliva on the enemy, which becomes stupefied. 
Contrary to the soldiers of the other Termites of New Guinea, which 
generally flee quickly when a nest is opened, I saw for the first time some 
courage in those of this species : they do not hide, but run about continually 
as if they were looking for an enemy. 
In the open air, however, they are almost helpless : they are braver 
when in a narrow passage where they can retreat, so that their very long 
mandibles protrude. 
In moving, the soldier stretches out his mandibles parallelly, so that 
the two points touch. 
When I offered him a small piece of wood, especially if rubbed with 
an ant, he seized it firmly, the mandibles closed together with a noise 
that could be heard, thereupon the soldier sprang a few centimeters back¬ 
wards or sideways, but so clumsily that he generally fell on his back. 
