1910 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 51 



Most collectors know the pretty moth named Plusia J^r&a, Hubn, and the one so 

 much like it that it was named ^reoides by Grote. The name of the latter was cor- 

 rectly printed up to the issue of Dr. Smith's Catalogue of ISToctuidse in 1893, in 

 which it appeared cut down to Oroides, but whether through the error of author or 

 printer, I am unable to determine, and since then I have hardly ever seen it cor- 

 rectly spelled anywhere. Dr. Dyar fell into the same error in his catalogue of 

 1903, though he gave the correct spelling in his index, and Dr. Smith, in his 

 check list of 1903, repeated the error, and everywhere the same erroneous spelling 

 is copied, including publications issued by Dr. E. P. Felt, State Entomologist of 

 New York, and in the lists of British Columbian Lepidoptera recently issued. 



In order to render my copy of Dr. Holland's Moth Book as correct as possible, 

 I have tabulated the corrections which have been made from time to time in differ- 

 ent publications by different writers, and have myself discovered five discrepancies 

 between names on plates and in the text. If any corrections have been made which 

 I have not noticed, or if any of the corrections have been proved erroneous, I would 

 greatly appreciate being informed of the facts. 



CONFLICTS BETWEEN ANTS. 

 By G. E. Sanders. 



Following are notes on a series of conflicts between two species of ants — 

 Myrmica scabrinodes sahnleti, Meinert, and Lasius niger Americanus: 



While making night observations on the Corn-root ant, Lasius nig or Ameri- 

 canus, in August, 1909, Mr. W. P. Flint and myself accidentally caused a very 

 curious conflict between the workers of a Lasius nest, and those of a nest of 

 ]\Iyrmica. For the three nights following we were fortunate enough to have it 

 repeated and to get several variations in the original procedure of Myrmica. It 

 is on these variations in the actions of Myrmica that I intend to dwell particularly, 

 and I will leave it to the reader to decide as to whether we had an unusual series 

 of accidental happenings, or if Myrmica is endowed with a certain amount of 

 reason. 



To describe the situation: — The Lasius nest, containing about 250 workers, 

 was situated under the edge of a wide furrow which we had plowed through a corn 

 field ; the furrow was 6 inches deep, and the bottom of it cleaned out with shovels, 

 leaving a smooth surface, one foot in width. The Myrmica nest, containing about 

 GO workers, was situated in the bottom of this furrow, about 8 inches away from 

 the opening of the Lasius nest; 6 inches beyond this, and in the bank opposite the 

 first Lasius nest, was a second Lasius nest, containing about 150 workers. 



Both species of ants are for the most part nocturnal, at least in their movements 

 on the surface. During warm nights throughout the summer one will find from 

 1-10 to 1-4 of the workers of a Lasius colony on the surface, foraging within two 

 feet of the entrance to the nest; a few individuals forage at greater distances, but 

 the majority forage near the nest. This enal^les them to attack and kill, by force 

 of numbers, almost any small insect, up to the size of the common Carabid, Agono- 

 derus paUipes, which is unfortunate enough to fall among them. They exhibit 

 great courage and skill in attacking these insects, which are often 13 to 15 times 

 as heavy as a Lasius worker. Myrmicas seldom forage near their nest; they forage 



