134 NOTES UPON THE FORMICIDjE OF MACKAY, 



May. The winged forms are hard to find, for only those of half 

 the species in the district have been secured. 



The genus Myrmecia is poorly represented in this district, only 

 three species having been collected, of which only 31. nigrocincta, 

 Mayr, is common. This species constructs a rounded mound of 

 earth over the nests, and at the least alarm they come rushing out 

 one behind the other in light skirmishing order, in a series of 

 jumps, and from their manner of progression are often called 

 "jumpers"; they both bite and sting ver}^ severely. The 

 entrance to the nest is generally on the side of the mound level 

 with the ground about Sydney, but in Mackay it is always on the 

 top; the excavations below were followed in one nest, from which 

 males and females were obtained in October, to a depth of two 

 feet without reaching the end. 



The only other species, neither of which is common, and 

 whose nests never contain many individuals, are Myrmecia 

 auriventris, Mayr, and a ^'ariety of M. ]rilivenfris. The members 

 of this genus, which is peculiar to Australia, are much better 

 represented in the more arid and sandy portions of Southern and 

 Central Australia than in the tropical regions. 



The genus Podomyrma is well represented by some eight 

 species, five of which were previously unknown, and some of 

 which have since been described by Professor Forel. All these 

 ants make their nests in cavities in the centre of living trees, the 

 entrance to the nest being so small a hole that only one ant can 

 pass in at a time, so that it is very difficult to locate the nest 

 without careful observation. 



Three species, Podomyrma gratiosa, Sm., P. micans, Ma3'r, and 

 P. striata, Sm., are comparatively common, and until recently I 

 believed that each species confined itself to a distinct species of 

 tree, but my brother in a visit some twenty miles down the coast, 

 where there is the same class of forest, found their nests in 

 different kinds of timber. Where one nest is discovered there 

 are frequently in the same tree several smaller distinct nests with 

 separate openings that are probably offshoots from the original 

 colony. In a nest of P. striata were found some curious coccids 



