1896.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 167 



Anaria nielanopa Gnophos haydenata 



quadrilunata Caripeta cequaliaria 



" richardsoni Acidalia californiata 

 " impingens rubrolineata 



Litocala sexsignata Glaucopteryx sabinii 

 Lithostege virginata polata 



Philereine meadiata caesiata 



RhciuHaptera hastata magnoliata 



lugtibrata 



and several yet unidentified species. 



-o- 



MIXED COLONIES OF ANTS. 



By GEO. B. KING, Lawrence, Mass. 



Considerable has been written by naturalists and others about 

 slave-making ants, but nothing of any importance about the 

 mixed colonies we find associated together living in perfect har- 

 mony, and not being enslaved, just the same as the human family 

 in this country and many others, mixed races living in one com- 

 munity, and many of them speaking the same language, under- 

 standing each other, and where intelligence prevails, laboring 

 and caring for one another; so likewise do some of our species 

 of ants. Each species of ants has a separate and distinct lan- 

 guage of its own, and is also capable of teaching it to other 

 species of ants differing from themselves in color, shape and 

 structural characters, and not only are they capable of teaching- 

 it to ants of other forms, but can teach it to the hundreds of 

 other Myrmecophilous insects that are found to inhabit their 

 nests, and in many instances can be only found to be associated 

 with ants. I will not discuss at this time how ants communicate 

 with each other, and teach others their peculiar language. This 

 would require more space than would be allowed for this article. 

 I will therefore only m-ention a few points that may be of some 

 value to any one who may take exceptions as to whether ants can 

 talk and teach others or not. 



The first labor that is taught to all young ants is the especial 

 care of its young in all its stages of development. It is quite 

 natural, therefore, when they are out foraging, away from their 

 own colony, they come across other species of ants, and seeing 

 some of their young larva or pupa, they take some of them 



