2Z6 



ANTS. 



social life among tin- l-'ormiciche the stage in which we have just 

 passed, to use Maeterlinck's words, from the "precarious and incom- 

 plete egoistic to a social life with its slight accession of certainty and 

 happiness." In order to appreciate this prospective and retrospective 

 value of the 1'oneriiue, it will be necessary to consider the taxonomy 

 and especially the habits of these insects. Unfortunately many of the 

 species are rare and live only in the inaccessible portions of the tropics, 

 so that little is known of their habits. I have published some observa- 

 tions ( 19000, 1900^, 1903 ) on our North American species, represent- 

 ing several of the tribes (Parasyscia anyustic, Stigmatomma pallipcs, 

 Lobopelta elonyata, Pachycondyla harpa.v, Pscudoponera stigma, Xco- 

 poncra rillosa, Ponera pennsylvanica, Platythyrca pnnctata, Odonto- 



FIG. 125. Parasyscia niigusta 1 of Texas, a, Worker : b, apterous female. (Original.) 



inaclnts clanis and Ii<cinatodcs). Cook has observed the habits of the 

 Guatemalan kelep (Ectatomma tnbcrcnlatnni ), recently introduced into 

 Texas for the purpose of exterminating the cotton-boll weevil, and 

 there are some notes on other forms scattered through the literature. 

 The classification on pages 134-137 shows that the Ponerinse com- 

 prise a number of different tribes, and this number will undoubt- 

 edly be augmented, when the subfamily has been carefully studied, 

 beyond that of any of the other subfamilies. So much differentia- 



