Smith. — On New Zealand Ants. 473 



the Asliburton River-bed. We visited the place on tlie 4th, 

 and found the ants inhabiting much higher ground than when 

 Mr. Sealy observed them migrating two days previously. The 

 object of removing the eggs was perfectly clear. The river 

 had been slowly rising for several days before Mr. Sealy 

 noticed them removing their eggs, and the water had pene- 

 trated the coarse shingle to within a few inches of the old site 

 of the nest the day we examined it. It is worthy of note that 

 our native ants, although long isolated from other regions, are 

 in no sense inferior in intelligence to those existing in other 

 countries. Too niuch stress is laid on instinct by writers in 

 guiding the habits of social insects. 



Monomoriuvi antarcUcum, White { — M. fulvum, Mayr), 

 occurs plentifully in both Islands. I have met with large 

 communities of this ant under stones in open situations in 

 Westland. They, however, exist in larger communities on 

 the eastern side of the Alps, especially on the outskirts of the 

 bush, and in warm valleys of the lower hills bounding the 

 Plains. Like H. striata, they haunt the habitats of subter- 

 ranean Coccids, and may frequently be seen gently stroking 

 them with their antenna. I have frequently observed workers 

 seize large females of D. pace and remove them to places of 

 safety. When studying the habits of ants it is important to 

 gently raise the stones covering their nests. By doing so an 

 excellent glimpse of the natural conditions of the nests is 

 obtained. If this is practised on a calm, dull day the ants do 

 not so readily become excited as they do on sunny or windy 

 days. In some of the nests where Coccids were numerous we 

 noticed the ants foi- a few seconds removing the soft cottony 

 secretion from them. It is a common occurrence to see many 

 of the ants moving about the nest with minute pai-ticles of the 

 fine cottony substance adhering to their heads and mandibles. 

 Where Coccid- {D. arecie) and Aphis-infested roots of Acana 

 microphylla are found in patches on the Ashburton Eiver-bed 

 they are attended by this ant, who treat these parasitic insects 

 with care, gently stroking them with the antennae, and mani- 

 pulating the cottony secretions with the mandibles. My 

 friend Mr. A. Brooks informs me that this species occurs in 

 the bush at Danevirke in very large communities. Excepting 

 the brighter colours of the specimens sent to me from Dane- 

 virke there is no other feature to distinguish them from speci- 

 mens collected on the Plains. In the INIount Somers district 

 this ant is found in the autumn in greater numbers in spider- 

 webs than other species of Monomoria, and the same fact 

 is recorded by Mr. G. V. Hudson from the WeUingtou 

 District. 



M. nitidmn, Smith : In addition to the foregoing remarks 

 on this interesting ant I have to refer to some curious Coc- 



