THE AMAZONS. 



4S3 



surprise, found it teeming with several hundred males clinging to the 

 lower surface of the stone, but with no winged or dealated females. 

 Besides the males I found only a single large ergatoid female, several 

 dozen workers and slaves, and half a dozen cocoons enclosing nearly 

 mature male pupae. Without doubt, the ergatoid had usurped the 

 role of the mother queen and, being unfertilized, had produced only 

 male offspring. The comparatively small number of slaves had been 

 able to rear an enormous number of these little creatures, although the 

 absence of inccrta pupae in the nest indicated that the Polycrgus 



FIG. 271. Polyergus lucidus. (Original.) a. Worker in profile; b. head from above. 



workers had made no forays during the summer of 1908. The fol- 

 lowing is a description of one of the forays made by this colony July 

 31, 1904, while it was still in a normal condition: 



On reaching the nest at 2.20 P. M. I found the lucidus pouring out 

 of it in numbers. They ran about on the stones and surrounding soil 

 till 2.37, when a troop of nearly 200 had congregated and began to 

 move away from the nest, slowly 'at first and then with feverish paces. 

 At 2.45 they reached, by a direct path through the grass, an obscure 

 crater nest of inccrta, situated some fifteen meters from their own. 

 They at once poured into the opening, slaughtering or putting to flight 

 the incerta that were loitering about or issuing from the galleries. One 

 minute later (at 2.46) the first lucidus emerged with a cocoon. Then 

 followed a stream of these ants, each similarly laden, and started for 

 home. Several were unable to secure sound pupae, but grabbed up 

 empty cocoons and pupal exuviae and fell in line. Some also brought 

 out recently hatched and callow incerta and slaughtered them on the nest 

 crater. The last cocoon was brought out at 3.13 and a few moments 

 later the last amazon left the nest and joined the returning troop. 

 During the pillage some of the inccrta endeavored to defend their nest, 



