24 WHEELER. [VOL. II. 



remarkable and un-ant-like procedure which I have been able 

 to observe in the three Texan species. 



My first observation on this singular method of feeding the 

 larvae was made on a large nest of Pachycondyla found under 

 a stone at the foot of Mt. Bonnell, near Austin, May 5. 

 Before the ants could carry them away, I had scooped up a 

 fine lot of larvae, together with the earth in which they were 

 lying. Among the larvae were several pieces, one or two seg- 

 ments long, of a recently killed myriopod (Scutigera). Into 

 these pieces the larvae, some of which were nearly full-grown, 

 had inserted their heads and were devouring the softer tissues ! 

 This could be distinctly seen with the pocket lens through the 

 glass of the vial to which the larvae had been transferred. In 

 another nest of the same species, uncovered May 16, I ob- 

 served the larvae in the nest lying on their backs, devouring 

 the pieces of some insect which I could not identify. 



The former of these observations made in the field led me 

 to observe the feeding of the larvae in my artificial nest of 

 Leptogenys. I had frequently wondered at the way in which 

 these ants decapitated termite nymphs or cut off their abdo- 

 mens and scattered these about among their larvae. It was 

 all quite clear to me now ; examination with the lens showed 

 that the larvae had inserted their long necks through the cut 

 surfaces into the soft parts of the termites and were feeding 

 exactly like the larvae of Pachycondyla. 



During the month of May I had frequent opportunity to 

 see Odontomachus feeding its larvae in my artificial nests. 

 These larvae are placed by the ants on their broad backs, and 

 their heads and necks are folded over onto the concave ventral 

 surface, which serves as a table or trough on which the food is 

 placed by the workers. The following observations are tran- 

 scribed from my notebook : 



semiliquide ; e tale e pure in massima 1'alimento delle stesse formiche allo stato 

 adulto, quando si cibano di sostanze zuccherine vegetali o degli escrementi liquidi 

 degli afidi. Pero, molte formiche vivono pure in parte di preda, e nulla prova che 

 si contentino di sorbire i succhi della loro vittima, e non digeriscano pure, medi- 

 ante la saliva, alcune parti solide." ..." Ora sarebbe pure possibile che For- 

 miche, le quale vivono principalmente di preda, diano in pasto alle loro larve pezzi 

 piii o meno triturati del corpo delle loro vittime come fanno le Vespe." 



