[Annals N. Y. Academy of Sciences, Vol. XX, No. 6, Part II, pp. 295-354. 



30 December, 1910] 



(Contributions from the Entomological Laboratory of the Bussey Insti- 

 tution, Harvard University. No. 32) 



THE NOETH AMERICAN' ANTS OF THE GENUS 

 CAMPONOTUS MAYE 



By William Morton Wheeler 



{Presented by title before the Academy, IJf. November, 1910) 



Our North American Camponoii, which comprise not only our largest 

 and most conspicuous, but also many of our most abundant ants, were 

 admirably revised in 1893 by Prof. Carlo Emery^ on tbe basis of a rather 

 extensive collection received from Mr. Theo. Pergande. So much new 

 material, however, has come to light within the past seventeen years, that 

 it seems advisable again to take account of stock. Emery recorded 28 

 forms of Camponotus from America north of Mexico. These represent 

 11 species', 9 subspecies and 13 varieties. The present paper records from 

 the same territory 58 forms, representing 21 species, 17 subspecies and 2? 

 varieties. Most of the new forms have been found in western and south- 

 western Texas and southern Arizona and properly belong to the fauna of 

 northern ^Mexico. Careful search will undoubtedly bring to light several 

 additional forms in the southwestern states and possibly also in tropical 

 Florida, but I believe that few new forms remain to be discovered in other 

 parts of the Union. I have seen all the recorded forms except two 

 varieties of C. fallax (var, cnemidatus Emery and var. paucipilis Emery) , 

 and I have observed most of the species, subspecies and varieties in living 

 colonies. 



Ethologicallv, our Camponoti may be divided into two sections, one of 

 which, embracing only the maculatus group, contains species that nest in 

 the ground under stones or logs or more rarely in obscure crater nests, 

 whereas the other section embraces all the other groups and contains 

 species that usually nest in dead wood or oak galls. These wood-inhabit- 

 ing species, however, exhibit considerable diversity of habit. 



No genus of ants has a more interesting or significant geographical 

 distribution than Camponotus. In North America, only one of the 



1 Beitriice zur Kenntniss der nordamerikanisclipn Ameisenfaiinn. Zool. .Tabrb. Abth. f. 

 Syst. VII, pp. 633-G82, Taf. 22. 1803. 



(295) 



