338 O. E. PLATH. 



Queen No. 2 was taken on June 3. Having lost both of her 

 antennae, she took little interest in life and died five days later. 



Queens No. 3 and No. 4 were taken in the Arnold Arboretum 

 on June 8, and June 16, respectively. They were confined separ- 

 ately, and each one was given three workers. Both of these 

 nuclei at once started nest-building, and toward the end of June 

 each had large larvae. The first workers emerged on July 9, and 

 u, respectively, whereupon both colonies were given their 

 liberty. A few days later, queen No. 4, returning from a foraging 

 trip, by mistake entered a nest of Bremus affinis and was stung to 

 death. Her brood and workers w r ere given to separates colony 

 No. 3. This colony prospered and produced a number of males 

 and queens in August, but had completely died out by September 

 10. 



According to Putnam ('64), Bremns separatus builds its nests 

 "under old stumps and in other situations similar to those in 

 which the nests of B.fervidus are found." 



In regard to the disposition of Bremns separatus, Putnam 

 (p. 101) has the following to say: "This species is nearly as 

 ferocious, on being disturbed, as B. ternarius" a statement which 

 is corroborated by my own experience. 



Dumoucheli GROUP. 



I. Bremns fervidus Fabricius. 



After losing several queens of Bremus fervidus by dueling, a 

 queen of this species was confined alone on May 24, but she 

 refused to start a nest. On June 2, three fervidus workers were 

 associated with her, and three days later the nest contained two 

 honey-pots and a closed egg-cell, but the larvae which hatched 

 from the eggs died, apparently because they were not fed by the 

 adults. Several other fervidus nuclei which were started later, 

 likewise paid no attention to their larvae. 



The nesting habits and disposition of Bremus fervidus have 

 been discussed in several recent papers ('22, '220, '226). 



II. Bremus pennsylvanicns De Geer. 



A queen of this species was confined on May 29, and six days 

 later, three workers of Bremus fervidus were given to her, but she 

 remained restless and would have nothing to do with them. 



