178 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [September, 



description, or figure, which had led him to label it thus. Finally, 

 while looking by chance in the ' ' Atlas de Zoologie op collection 

 de 100 planches . . . par M. Paul Gervais, Paris, 1844," he found 

 a figure labeled " Trichobie parasite'' and also the following 

 reference in the text: " Trichobius parasiticus Gerv., de la Guiane. 

 Petit insecte diptere de la famille des Mallophages de Nitzsch, 

 trouve parasite sur une chauve-souris de la Guiane appelee Des- 

 modus rufus. II n'a pas encore 6te" decrit. " 



Therefore, to Dr. Duges is due the credit for at last finding the 

 source of this name. He says, in conclusion: " L' insecte res- 

 semble beaucoup a celui que je vous ai envoye, et que vous avez 

 decrit le premier." 



THKY HAVE SLAVES WHO ATTEND TO ALL THEIR WANTS. Certain war- 

 like species of ants, as Formica sanguined and F. rufescens, have sub- 

 jugated a negro species, F.fusca. Here again ants, while behaving like 

 men, have never allowed themselves the abuses of force to which men 

 are accustomed. They never enslave adult ants; they seize upon the 

 pupa;, bring up the young, treat them gently, and thus turn them into 

 docile and zealous servants. The slave ants who have never known the 

 city from which they sprang, do all the inferior work of the community 

 with eager alacrity, care for the larva;, carry their mistresses, feed them, 

 barricade the approaches in case of siege, receive the victorious amazons 

 with joy when they return from a fruitful expedition, and relieve them of 

 the pupa; captured in the raid. They are so thoroughly on the side of 

 their employers that it is believed they molest those who return from an 

 expedition with empty mandibles. As for these slaves their labor is purely 

 domestic. In some English ant hills the slaves never leave the nest. In 

 Switzerland some go aphis hunting, a business scorned by the warrior 

 ants. The warriors always seem to consider the black ants who serve 

 them as their property, and though they may allow themselves to be car- 

 ried by their slaves, these soldiers, in their turn, do not disdain to carry 

 their servants for safety's sake when changing house, or in case of a siege, 

 to drag them hastily down into the depths of the subterranean dwelling. 

 This system of slavery has certainly lasted for many centuries in the ant 

 world, but it has not existed always, as is attested by certain survivals, 

 because in certain species, that pampered progenetrix, the queen, partici- 

 pates in the labors of the community exactly like a humble worker. 



Prof. J. B. SMITH, New Brunswick, N. |., is engaged on a monographic 

 revision of the Deltoid group of the Noctuida-, and desires material from 

 all parts of the country. He will name and return all material sent him 

 for the privilege of retaining such specimens as may be needed for de- 

 scription or for completing the collection of the U. S. National Museum. 



