Nov. 17,1933 
Termites of the Canal Zone 
287 
On June 16, 1921, Messrs. Zetek and Molino collected soldiers of 
Coptotermes niger from a small hole in an avocado tree trunk at Frijoles, 
Canal Zone. The wood inside the trunk was honeycombed by these 
termites. Only soldiers were obtained, although the hole was well 
explored. 
In another tree on the same day workers and soldiers of this termite 
were found at Frijoles, Canal Zone. The base of the tree was rotted 
and honeycombed. A soldier of Leucotermes tenuis was present in the 
wood. 
At the same locality, on the same day, still another colony was found 
in a hole at' the base of an avocado tree. The hole was filled in with an 
earthlike mass as hard as talc stone, riddled and inhabited by the termites 
so that it 1 looked very much like a “ nest.’ ’ (Cavities in trees, poles, etc., 
are often filled in by termites with a mixture of excreta and earth.) 
There were also tunnels in the rotted wood. 
Coptotermes niger seems to be fond of the gum of “copaiferous trees,” 
and tunnels the tarred parcelling of telephone cables which under ordi¬ 
nary conditions one would suspect of being repellent. In this connec¬ 
tion it might be said that the swabbing of building timbers and railroad 
ties with tar, as is now done in the Canal Zone, has no value in preventing 
injury by termites and, if the tar coating is of any great thickness, it is 
even a harmful practice. 
The copal tree of tropical Africa is Trachylobium mossambicense. 
From this tree exudes the gum copal in which so many winged fossil 
termites are found. 
swarming 
Coptotermes niger swarms from April till June. 
On April 19, 1919, Coptotermes niger swarmed simultaneously with 
Nasutitermes cornigera on the Pacific side of the Canal Zone, between 
3 p. m. and dusk following a 12-hour rain. The combined swarm was 
very large. 
On June 18 a much lesser swarming took place, winged adults being 
collected at Ancon at dusk, following a heavy rain that fell on the pre¬ 
ceding day and another rain in the morning of the same day. 
That swarming is decidedly influenced by rainfall is shown by the 
swarming at Juan Mina on the Atlantic side of the divide on May 14, 
1919. At noon a very heavy rain began to fall, over an inch falling 
between that time and 3 p. m. At 2.30 p. m., although it was still 
raining hard, Mr. Dietz’s attention was attracted to the actions of a 
large number of birds that had collected on the dead trees bordering 
the Chagres River and repeatedly flew forth from their perches to catch 
insects. When the rain subsided enough to permit investigation, it was 
found that the air was full of the large dusky adults of Coptotermes niger 
and Nasutitermes cornigera and that not only swallows, but chickens, 
ants, and spiders were catching these clumsy winged termites. The 
swarming continued during a drizzling rain throughout the return trip 
down the Chagres River until about 3.30 p. m., and when a point 
about a mile above Gamboa was reached, no more adults were seen. 
On June 4 James Zetek collected winged adults of this termite at 
Ancon. The rains had just about begun and it was notable that when 
the rains were heavy there was no swarming of termites. On June 4 
the first long drizzle occurred and at dusk there was a very extensive 
swarming of termites which lasted about two hours. For a distance of 
