1 82 HORACE DONISTHORPE. 



that here was a case where a fuliginosns female had evidently 

 founded her colony in a nest of mi.vtus. 



On May 29, 1919, Mr. H. M. Hallett discovered a mixed colony 

 of fuliginosus and mlvtiis in a wood at Cwrt-yr-ala in Glamorgan- 

 shire. The shoots from the stump of a felled oak were covered 

 with Aphides, and all over the stump and shoots numbers of 

 fuliginosus and mixtus workers occurred together. They were in 

 the proportion of about 6 to 4. 



Stumper ('20) briefly refers to de Lannoy's records and the 

 views held on the subject by Emery, Forel, and Wasmann. He 

 considers that three, in particular two, discoveries he made in the 

 summer of 1917 at Neuenstadt speak against the general validity 

 of their opinions. There he found two isolated fuliginosns queens 

 ;< in their cells," situated under stones ; but no brood was present. 

 The third was under a stone which covered a nest of Dii.vtus. but 

 "her cell" did not communicate with the galleries of the latter. 

 It will be seen that his knowledge of the literature on the subject 

 does not appear to extend beyond 1909 at any rate, he entirely 

 ignores everything that has been written by Ciawley, Donisthorpe, 

 and Wheeler ! His latest discovery, of course, really confirms the 

 fact that fuliginosus females found their colonies in mi.vtus nests. 

 The female in question was no doubt only waiting for a suitable 

 opportunity to enter the mi.vtus nest. She was probably " in 

 quarantine," for the same reason that beetles of the genus Atemclcs 

 hang about a nest of Formica before they enter it after leaving 

 one of Mynnica. It is only in observation nests that a fuliginosus 

 queen has to put up with such a severe test as going straight into a 

 nest of the host species from her own. After fertilization, should 

 a female not be able to return to the parent colony, or enter a nest 

 of another colony of the same species, she would have to wander 

 about in search of a mixtus or umbratus nest, and would naturally 

 hang about near by after she had discovered it. She would not 

 only thus lose her own nest " aura," but in part acquire that of 

 the other. As to Stumper's two first instances, it is possible that 

 there may have been colonies of umbratus or mi.rtns in the near 

 vicinity. Or after hunting about in vain for such these females 

 may have crept under stones for shelter. It is not to be supposed 

 that every female who finds herself stranded is successful in her 



