^ ANTS. 



being common inland." According to Sharp (1899) the nests of these 

 ants are "said to he sometimes five feet high," but it is probable that 

 this statement refers either to unusual nests of Iridomyrmex pur- 

 pnrcits or to certain termite nests which Froggatt has recently described 

 and figured. Barker (1903) has published some observations on the 

 black bull-dog ant (M. forficata) and a red species (M. sanguined) in 

 Victoria. The colonies of the former number from 500-1,000, of tin- 

 latter from 200-500 individuals. Externally the nests of both species 



FIG. 127. Worker of Cylindromyrmex whymperi of Ecuador. (Cameron.) 



show only a little loose earth and few holes. ' Both nests go down to 

 two to four feet through the surface soil into yellow clay, and I have 

 found these where the clay was particularly hard, so that considerable 

 labor with pick and shovel is required in taking them out. There are 

 exceptional cases where the form of the nest is modified, which it 

 may be from the strength of the colony, the time it has been established, 

 the nature of the soil, or the advantage taken of its local surroundings." 

 Barker found that " the Blacks show a greater preference for old tree 

 roots, and in one case they had made a nest near a fallen tree, one of the 

 limbs of which dipped into the ground ; where it had rotted away, the 



