480 ANTS. 



to time from the ma>s of oak leaves covering the branch and anon 

 reentered UK- not. At 1.15 a bicolor scout emerged and went in the 

 direction taken In one of the scouts on July 31. I followed her for 

 about 6 m. when .-die disappeared under the dead leaves. 1 returned 

 to tlie nest in time to see another scout start out and move away in 

 the <|)|)o>ite direction. When about 4 m. from the nest she also dis- 

 appeared under the leaves. At 1.35 the bicolor, about 300 strong, came 

 pouring out of the nest as if in response to some sudden signal. They 

 were' not restrained by the slaves loitering about the entrance, but 

 moved around rather leisurely for some minutes like a crowd assem- 

 bling Then at 1.40 P. M. they started and soon detached themselves 

 completely from the nest. I expected to see them make for one of 

 the stumps that had been reconnoitered by the scouts July 31, but they 

 took the opposite direction. They moved very rapidly, in a more 

 crowded body than they had presented on previous occasions, and four 

 to six abreast. They soon reached the spot where some twenty minutes 

 before I had seen the first scout disappear. Here they halted for a 

 few moments and assembled, then they turned at a right angle and pro- 

 ceeded about half a meter and forthwith began to disappear under 

 the leaves. Two subccncsccns suddenly darted out with larvae in their 

 jaws and fled. I raised the leaves and found in a depression of the 

 soil about 500 subcenescens workers and two dealated queens all hud- 

 dled together with only six or eight pupae in their midst. This was 

 certainly a temporary nest in which the ants had taken refuge after 

 being plundered by the amazons on some previous afternoon. The 

 bicolor fell upon them, tore away their few remaining pupae and by 

 1.50 P. M. were starting home. At first the snbccnesccns did not flee, 

 but hung about as if thoroughly disheartened or indifferent. Some of 

 them attacked the amazons, but these for some reason showed very 

 little animosity. Finally the stfbcenescens dispersed and the amazons 

 filed home, many of them carrying uninjured sub&nescens, apparently 

 because they did not wish to leave the nest with empty jaws. By a 

 few minutes past two the slave-makers were all in their branch under 

 the oak leaves and all was quiet in the neighborhood. 



August 2. Arriving at the bicolor nest at 1.20 P. M. I saw the last 

 members of the troop just leaving the dead oak leaves. I followed the 

 stragglers and found that the army had assembled at the spot to which 

 1 had traced the first scout August I. The ants were ferreting in 

 some galleries in the vegetable mould under the leaves, but there were 

 no subcenescens to be seen. They seemed to be very reluctant to leave 

 the spot, but they finally spread apart and began to investigate the oak 

 leaves in the vicinity. They soon reached the stump that had con- 



