IV 



M VRMICIDES ANERGA TES I 6 I 



first an active little creature with wings, but after these are lost 

 the body of the Insect becomes extremely distended as shown in 

 Fig. 69, C; the creature is in this state entirely helpless, and as 

 there are no workers, the Anergates, is completely dependent, for 

 the existence of itself and its larvae, on the friendly offices of the 

 Tetramorium that lives with it. The mode of the association 

 of these two Insects is at present both unparalleled and inexplic- 

 able, for only workers of the Tetramorium are found in company 

 with the and 5 Anergates ; the community, in fact, consisting 

 of males and females of one species and workers of another. The 

 nests of Anergates are so rare that only a few naturalists have 

 been able to observe them (Schenk, von Hagens, and Forel may 

 be specially mentioned), but in the spots where they occur, 

 nests of the Tetramorium, containing all the forms of that species, 

 are numerous, and it therefore seems probable that a young fertile 

 female of the Anergates may leave a nest in which it was born, 

 enter a nest of the Tetramorium, and, destroying the queen thereof, 

 substitute herself in the place of the victim ; but if this be really 

 the case, the larvae and pupae of the Tetramorium must also be 

 destroyed, for no young of the Tetramorium are ever found in 

 these strange associations. It is very difficult to believe that 

 the Tetramorium workers should be willing to accept as their 

 queen a creature that commenced her acquaintance with them by 

 destroying their own queen or queens and a number of their 

 young sisters ; especially as the Tetramorium is a more powerful 

 ant than the Anergates, and could readily dispose of the murderous 

 intruder if it were disposed to do so. It is known, however, 

 that colonies of Tetramorium completely destitute of queens some- 

 times occur, and Wasmann has suggested that the female Aner- 

 gates may seek out one of these, and installing herself therein as 

 a substitute, may be accepted by the orphaned colony. This 

 plausible hypothesis has still to be verified. 



The genus Cardiocondyla also exhibits the phenomenon of 

 apterous, worker-like males, while in one species, C. emeryi, a 

 winged male is also known to exist. 



Tomognathus sublaevis is a little Myrmicid ant, found rarely 

 in Denmark and Sweden, where its habits have recently been 

 studied by Adlerz. A band of the Tomognathus attack the nest 

 of another little Myrmicid, Leptothorax acervorv. m , and succeed 

 by their own pertinacity and the fears of the Leptothorax in 



VOL. VI M 



