AN ABERRANT LASIUS FROM JAPAN. 155 



niicrogyna groups when they enter nests of F. fusca and incerta. 

 \Ya-mann Inco citato] accepts the interpretation given by Emery 

 and Ford, and now recalls that he has on several occasions found 

 mixed colonies <f L. nmbratus and fuliginosus. Donisthorpe 1 

 states ili at in 1X97 he recorded the occurrence of a large colony 

 of fnli'jninsns in a hollow tree at Lymington, England, living with 

 \\li.it In In-lit -\ -d at the time to he L.flavus but has since decided 

 must ha\<- Ix-rn nmbratus. He also says that Crawley has re- 

 ccntK lMind nn;!>rntns workers in company with fuliginosus. 



Hut even ilii- is apparently not the whole story. CrawK-y- 

 foimd ili.n i In- ijucen of nmbratus may be adopted by a colony of 

 L > nid \\.i-mann (loco citato} has shown that the former 



am is, .ii I. ast occasionally, a temporary parasite on niger, for he 

 loi 1 1 id .1 inixid i -i i|i my of the two species which could only U 

 inii i ]uvii d mi this supposition. He believes, therefore, that we 

 m.r Ii i\- In !< a case of social hyperparasitism nmbratus found- 

 sith the aid of niger, and fuliginosus with the aid 

 ol nmhrtitns! In these observations it is, of course, the female of 

 tin- Knro| .1 -.in 'nliginosus which exhibits temporary social para- 

 Hti-m, and it ^ />nthff>ns is really the /^-female of this species, it is 

 al-o. in .dl pri'liability, addicted to the same form of parasitism, 

 IK rli.ip- MM -, ,nie other species of Lasins, although nmbratus, as 

 I lia\c -i.iird. i- known to occur in Japan. 



rim- ii .ip|M-ars th.it in the old world the genus Lasins, like 

 ilic ;o'iiu- /"''iiicd, is made up of two sets of species one 

 (AircincK abundant and widely distributed, with queens able 

 t<> r-iaMNi their colonies independently, the other rare and 

 >poradir in tin -ir occurrence, with (jueens that require the assi-t- 

 aint ni' \\orkn-~ ol other species of the genus when engaged in 

 founding iluir commonwealths. To the former set belong L. 

 I nid ii> various subspecies (alienns Forster, brnmnas 

 I. at r.. , :,ir^iinilns Fabr.. lasioides Emery) and L. flavus; to the 

 latter /.. nnif'nitns Nyl., and its subspecies mixttts Nyl., bicornis 

 \ -tt-r and affinis Schenck, L. carniolicus Mayr and fuliginosus 

 Lair. I'l i rarity of carniolicus and the very small 



'"On th<' Kiiim Him i Nests by Ants; an 1 a few n^tes on Myrnr-c philes,"' 



l:nt. R,. XXII . No. |. IQIO, 4pp. 

 :. Mxtiti: \l.:. . \-}>), p. 94. 



