PERSECUTED AXD TOLERATED GUESTS. 393 



living with ants or termites. Like many other synoeketes these insects 

 are panmyrmecophilous and not restricted to particular hosts. 



(d) The Strigilators. I propose this name for a group of synce- 

 ketes that lick the surfaces of ants and seem to feed very largely, if not 

 exclusively, on the cutaneous secretions and the thin coating of saliva 

 with which the ants cover one another. To this group belong the little 

 wingless crickets of the genus Myrmecophila, the equally diminutive 

 cockroaches of the genus A tta[> Iiila and the Staphylinid beetle O.rysom a. 

 The symbiotic ants Leptothora.v emersoni and glacialis also have sim- 

 ilar habits, but these are more conveniently described in another con- 

 nection (Chapter XXIII). 



Like many other synoekete genera, Myrmecophila has a world-wide 

 distribution. Two species (M. acervorum and ochracea] have been 

 described from Europe, one from North Africa (M. salomonis), one 

 from India (flavocincta}, one from the Bintang Islands (dubia], one 

 from Australia (australis], five from the LTnited States (pergandei, 

 formicarum, oregonensis, nebrascensis and nchaickee) and two from 

 South America (americana and prenolepidis). Most, if not all, the 

 species tend to become panmyrmecophilous. M. acervorum lives with 

 ants of the genera Formica, Lasins, Mynnica, Aphccnogastcr and 

 Tetramorium. M. flavocincta occurs with Plagiolepis longipcs and 

 Prcnolcpis longicornis and has been introduced into Brazil with the 

 latter ant. M. ochracea inhabits the nests of Messor barbarus, Pheidolc 

 pallidula and Liometopum microcephalum. I have received M. australis 

 with specimens of Camponotus nigriceps. According to Pergande 

 (Scudder, 1899), M. pergandei, the largest species of the genus, lives 

 with Camponotus pennsylvanicus, uicllcns, falla.v var., Formica snb- 

 sericea, pallide-fulva, Integra, Aphcenogaster tennesseensis and Crcinas- 

 togaster lineolata. M. formicarum lives with Camponotus levigatus 

 and M. oregonensis with F . neorufibarbis. Cockerell fovmd M. nebras- 

 censis in the nests of a Formica at Santa Fe; N. M. ; in Texas I have 

 taken it with Formica gnava, Pogonomyrme.v molcfacicns, Camponotus 

 sansabcanus and Pachycondyla liarpa.r. M. nehaivkee is recorded only 

 from the nests of Cremastogaster lineolata. The males of the European 

 Myrmecophila acervorum seem to be extremely rare, if not altogether 

 unknown ; they have been seen in all the American species except 

 pergandei. All the species are peculiar in having a wide but discon- 

 tinuous distribution : that is, they are very common in certain localities 

 and completely absent from others, for no apparent reason. The habits 

 of only a few .of the species have been studied. I here give some obser- 

 vations which I made during the spring of 1900 on .17. nebrascensis, 

 taken from colonies of Formica gnara and placed in artificial nest- 



