454 Phylum Arthropoda 



beetles appeared although there was an abundance of fly larvae. Mold, 

 also, seemed to produce an unfavorable environment. Rather dry ma- 

 terial, on the other hand, practically always showed a large number of 

 Staphylinidae. 



The beetles, both larvae and adults, were usually securely hidden in 

 the material and when a pan of it was suddenly overturned they would 

 scamper away in all directions. 



Both larvae and adults were hardy and were easily kept in small tin 

 salve boxes which were half filled with moist sand. A bit of the dis- 

 integrating vegetable material from the pans was added to give the 

 same general environment as that in which they had been found. This 

 vegetable substance was full of dipterous larvae and mites and from time 

 to time more larvae were added. The Staphylinidae were so easily raised 

 that in about six weeks over 20 were reared from the larval to the adult 

 stage in these little boxes. 



The larvae have a wide range in their food habits. Larvae of the 

 muscids and other Diptera were eaten readily. In two cases they were 

 fed entirely on mites and they grew well. The larvae will eat other larvae 

 or pupae of the same species. They thrive on a variety of food, both 

 as to kind and as to amount. The amount of food that was definitely 

 put in was no true estimate, however, for whenever vegetable matter was 

 introduced it was full of minute forms of life. 



In a period of about two months Philonthus brunneus, P. longicornis, 

 P. cyannipennis, Tachinus flavipennis, and Belonuchus jormosis were 

 raised, the first named of these from the egg stage. 



M. E. D. 



Family pselaphidae 



BATRISODES GLOBOSUS* 



A COLONY of the ant, Lasius alicnus americanus, was found in a broad 

 dry board in the sunlit margin of a hemlock forest. It yielded 

 workers in abundance, eggs, larvae, many pupae and freshly pupated 

 "callows." With the ants were taken four males and four females of 

 the myrmecocole, Batrisodes globosus. 



Since the exact food of this species appears to be in doubt, the beetles 

 and a part of the colony were studied to determine this point if possible. 

 The general method of observing the nest inhabitants was that previ- 

 ously used (Park, 1929). 



B. globosus has been reported previously by Schwartz (1890) with 



♦Abstracted from an article in /. N. Y. Ent. Soc. 40: 377, 1932, by Orlando Park, 

 Northwestern University. 



