Nov. 17, 1923 
Termites of the Canal Zone 
297 
for although they killed hundreds of nasuti and worker termites, they 
were unable to reduce the numbers that swarmed forth to meet them 
and so in the course of 20 minutes the fight was over, the ants withdrawing, 
leaving the termites the victors. These marched up and down the 
stump and over the ground at its base in never-ending streams, apparently 
at a loss as to how to repair their completely ruined nest. 
NASUTITERMES EPHRATAE 
Nasutitermes ephratae, like the preceding species, is of considerable 
economic importance. At the Hotel Tivoli at Ancon, Canal Zone, its 
tunnelling in the wood necessitated the removal of over 8,000 square 
feet of oak flooring. These floors were laid on spruce and yellow pine 
joists, which, in the presence of the oak, remained free from attack. 
Out of several hundred joists examined one of oak was found and it was 
badly riddled. 
N. ephratae was also found tunnelling through trunks and their con¬ 
tents and through boots and shoes where these had been left standing 
undisturbed for a long time. It showed a predilection for the outer 
surfaces of the last mentioned articles. 
Carton nests such as those shown in Plate 3, A, B, were occasionally 
found on the joists beneath the floors and in one instance a large nest 
3 feet high, 2 feet wide, and 6 inches deep was found between the wooden 
walls of a bathroom. This nest resembled superficially the comb in an 
old box beehive. 
These termites need a source of moisture in order to continue their 
work, and in buildings of the Canal Zone and Panama they usually find 
it in the bathrooms, where some parts of the floors are always moist, 
owing to the general prevalence of shower baths. It is in the vicinity 
of the bathrooms that these termites are found in the greatest number and 
the damage is worst. When they gain entrance to a building and 
become established they do not need access to the ground for a source 
of water supply, and the removal of the runways leading from the 
building to the ground does not cause the species to die out. 13 
No out-of-door nests of Nasutitermes ephratae had been found until 1921, 
all the “nigger-head’’ nests examined being those of N. cornigera. In 
texture and general internal structure the nests and runways of N. 
ephratae are inseparable from those of N. cornigera. On February 19, 
1921, however, Molino and Zetek found a small nest of N. ephratae 
on a mango tree in an avocado plantation at Frijoles, Canal Zone. 
This was the only nest seen. Only one large egg-laying queen was 
present. 
SWARMING 
In the Tivoli no winged adults were taken in 1919, although careful 
watch was kept for them from April until the end of July. On May 20, 
1911, at Cabima, Panama, Busck took the winged adults at trap lights. 
A queen in the Beaumont collection measures 27 mm. in length and 
5 mm. in width; the queen is of the first form. 
13 On January 19, 1920, Mr. Zetek collected specimens of workers and nasuti of Nasutitermes ephratae 
injuring a filing case in a building at Ancon, Canal Zone. 
