HONEY ANTS. 367 



the nests of the ants merely from hearsay. Later various, more or 

 less erroneous, observations on the var. horti-deorum were made at 

 Santa Fe, N. M., by Captain W. B. Fleeson (Edwards, 1873), Saimders 

 ( 1875) and Loew ( 1874 ). The first to publish a trustworthy account 

 of this, or in fact of any of our Myrmecocysti, was McCook (18826). 

 He discovered horti-deorum in the Garden of the Gods, near Alanitou, 

 Colo. (Fig. 215). The nests, which were found on the tops of stony 

 ridges, are described in great detail. The large circular entrance, 2-2.5 

 cm. in diameter, is in the center of a cone-shaped crater of small 

 pebbles 8-25 cm. in diameter at the base and 5-8 cm. high (Fig. 216). 

 The entrance opens into a vertical or oblique gallery which at a depth 

 of 9-15 cm. breaks up into several smaller galleries. These usually 



FIG. 217. Male, female, minima and maxima workers of Myrmecocystus 

 Iiorti-Jeonim, slightly enlarged. (Original.) 



run to one side of the entrance gallery. At a depth of 20-35 cm. the 

 smaller galleries lead into chambers with smooth, flattened floors and 

 rough, vaulted ceilings. These chambers vary from 12-15 cm. in 

 length and 7-10 cm. in width, and may be 4 cm. high in the middle. 

 McCook has described some very large formicaries, the galleries of 

 one of which extended over an area of more than 2 m. and reached 

 a depth in the soil of more than a meter. From the ceilings of the 

 chambers the repletes hang, side by side, by means of their claws, and 

 the vaulting is evidently left rough as an adaptation to this peculiar 

 habit (Fig. 220). The repletes are capable of more movement than 

 has usually been supposed, but if they fall from the ceiling they are 

 unable to regain their pendent position without assistance. Large nests 

 may contain as many as three hundred repletes distributed over several 

 chambers. 



