242 
Psyche 
[Vol. 87 
Conclusions 
Arboreal nests of the sympatric Neotropical termites N. corniger 
and N. ephratae are structurally consistent within species but 
distinctly different between species. Except in very small nests, the 
exterior and interior differences are reliable, useful field characters 
for differentiating two species that can otherwise be difficult to 
distinguish without alates or primary reproductives. It would be 
interesting to examine the nest architecture of other arboreal 
Nasutitermes in the New World 2 for possible phylogenetic trends. 
note added in proof: Chemosystematic analysis of soldier head 
monoterpenes and diterpenes also reveals distinctive and reproduc¬ 
ible differences between N. corniger and N. ephratae in most cases. 
However, several N. corniger nests have yielded soldiers with 
corniger-like monoterpenes and ephratae-like diterpenes (G. Prest- 
wich, B. Thorne, and B. Bentley, unpublished). 
Acknowledgements 
I thank the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) for 
generous logistical support and use of laboratory facilities. Kumar 
Krishna kindly identified specimens of Nasutitermes. Fellow Neo¬ 
tropical isopterists E.A. McMahan and G.D. Prestwich were helpful 
in corroborating some of the observations presented in this paper. 
E. McMahan, G. Prestwich, R. Silberglied, and K. Sebens assisted 
in editing an earlier version of the manuscript. The research was 
supported by a Smithsonian predoctoral fellowship (STRI) and by 
NSF dissertation improvement grant DEB-80-16415. 
References 
Banks, N. 
1918. The termites of Panama and British Guiana. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. Bull. 
38(17): 659-667. 
Becker, G. 
1953. Einige Beobachtungen iiber hozzerstorende Insekten (Termiten und 
Kafer) in Guatemala. Zeitsch Angew Ent. 35: 339-373. 
2 The exterior surfaces of N. nigriceps and N. columbicus colonies in Panama are 
distinct from N. corniger and N. ephratae nests (pers. obs.), but internal structure has 
not been investigated. 
