THE POXEKL\E ANTS. 



241 



field. This time, to my astonishment, they did not look for their little 

 white opponents, but for their black comrades, each of whom they bore 

 back in their mandibles to the company still assembled and waiting on 

 the same spot. When there were no more stragglers the troop hurried 

 back to the hole and disappeared into it with their booty and what I 

 took to be their wounded." 



It is very probable that the ''wounded" individuals mentioned by 

 Ilg were merely stragglers forcibly deported in the same manner as 

 many of the higher ants carry home belated members of their colonies 

 (see p. 178). Cook has actually witnessed the deportation of queens 

 and workers in Ectatomuia tuberculatuin. He says: "If the kelep 



FIG. 138. A Jumping Ponerine Ant. a. Female of Harpegnathus rngosits of Hong- 

 kong, b. Same in profile; c, head of same from above. (Mayr.) 



queen does not follow at once to the new nest a worker seizes her by 

 her mandibles, raises her in the air, and carries her over bodily. This 

 has been observed repeatedly in connection with the prompt transfers 

 which many of the imported colonies made from their cages into the 

 ground. The queen submits to this treatment as though it were a 

 regular occurrence, and remains quiet and rigid while being carried 

 about. In one instance several workers also remained behind, but 

 were caught and carried by their sisters into the new burrow." 



The habit of foraging in files has also been observed by Wroughton 

 (1892) and Aitken in two Indian species of Lobopelta (L. distingucnda 

 and cJiincusis). Concerning the former Wroughton writes as follows 



