164 KANSAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE. 



THE MOUND-BUILDING PRAIRIE ANT. 



[Pogoriomyrmex occidentalis.) 

 By Geo. A. Dean, Kansas Agricultural College, Manhattan. 

 Read before the Academy, at Manhattan, November 28, 1903. 



OF all the insects none are more familiar to us than ants. They 

 are found in all countries ; they establish their communities in 

 the immediate vicinity of many dwellings, and some of them even in- 

 vade the habitations of man. Their intelligence, industry and perse- 

 verance have attracted the attention and admiration of the most serious 

 men. Even in remote ages such men as Solomon did not hesitate to 

 state that these little creatures were worthy of imitation. In Prov- 

 erbs 6 : 6-8, we find the following familiar words : "Go to the ant, thou 

 sluggard ; consider her ways, and be wise : which having no guide, 

 overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth 

 her food in the harvest." 



Structurally they rank among the highest of the insects. In effi- 

 ciency they are second to none. They have acquired the art of living 

 together in societies more perfectly than our own species. Their 

 time and labor are devoted to the welfare of the colony, rather than 

 to that of the individual. 



Crossing the prairies of central and western Kansas, the traveler's 

 interest and attention are attracted to the gravel-covered cones which 

 skirt the railroad on either side. Located in the center of a circular 

 cleared space, they stand out very prominently to break the monotony 

 of the grass-covered plains. The industry of these little workers has 

 dotted the prairies with their formicaries. Their mounds are con- 

 spicuous along the slopes of a ravine. Their domiciles are located in 

 the little nooks and flats between cliflfs and ridges and along the 

 streams. The ants are found persistently clinging to their home in 

 the traveled street and along the crowded sidewalk. They assert their 

 presence in the front yard, at the doorstep, and in the trodden path. 

 They adapt themselves to the abnormal environments of a barn-yard. 

 They cling to their nest, and establish their clearing in the wheat- and 

 alfalfa- fields, regardless of the plowing, disking, and cultivation. The 

 faroaer hates them ; animals avoid their formicaries ; birds and fowls 

 do not molest them. On the other hand, the naturalist admires their 

 industry, wonders at their pertinacity, and enjoys studying their 

 habits. 



The form of the mound is usually that of an elliptical cone, al- 

 though several of them are symmetrical. The cones are of various 



