MIGRATION AND DISPERSAL OF INSECTS '. HYMENOPTERA, TERMITES. 211 



are so eagerly preyed upon by insectivorous animals that, on the 

 morninG; after their flight, not an individual is to be seen, a few 

 impregnated females alone escaping the slaughter to found new 

 colonies." Abbott writes {American Naturaluf) that, on October 6th, 

 1873, at about 4 p.m., he was attracted to a part of the large yard 

 surrounding his house by a multitude of large-sized insects that filled 

 the air, and proved to be a brood of red ants, Formica, that had just 

 emerged from their underground home, and were now, for the first time, 

 using their delicate wings. The sky, at the time, was wholly overcast ; 

 the wind strong southwest ; thermometer 66°F. Taking a favourable 

 position near the mass as they slowly crawled from the ground up the 

 blades of grass and stems of clover and small weeds, it was noticed 

 that (1) they seemed dazed, without any method in their movements, 

 save an ill-defined impression that they must go somewhere, (2) they 

 were pushed forward usually by those coming on after them, which 

 seemed to add to their confusion. As a brood or colony of insects, 

 their every movement indicated that they were wholly ill at ease, and 

 once at the end of a blade of grass they seemed even more puzzled as 

 to what to do. If not followed by a fellow ant, as was usually the case, 

 they would invariably crawl down again to the earth and sometimes 

 repeat this movement until a new comer followed in the ascent, when 

 the uncertain individual would be forced to use his wings. This flight 

 would be inaugurated by a very rapid buzzing of the Avings, after a 

 short rest the violent movement would recommence, and finally 

 losing fear as it were, the ant would let go its hold upon the blade of 

 grass and rise slowly upwards, ten, twenty, or thirty feet, until caught 

 by a breeze or by the steadier wind that was moving at an elevation 

 equal to the height of the surrounding pine and spruce trees. So far 

 as Abbott was able to discover, their wings were of the same use to them 

 in transporting them from their former home, that the " wings " of 

 many seeds are in scattering them ; both are wholly at the mercy of 

 the wind. Referring to Bates' account of the Saiiba ants {(Ecodoma 

 cephalotes) , already quoted, Abbott points out that Bates shows that the 

 successful debut of the winged males and females depends similarly 

 upon the workers, there being considerable activity and excitement at 

 the nest when the exodus of the winged individuals is taking place ; 

 the workers clearing the roads of exit and showing the most lively 

 interest in their departure. But Abbott observes that, in the Far mica 

 migration that he witnessed, only a few wingless worker ants were 

 discovered, and these took no interest whatever in the departure 

 of their winged brothers, nor did examination of the nest show any 

 marked movements connected with the exodus on the part of the 

 workers. The flight appears to have commenced about 4 p.m., and 

 lasted until nearly 7 p.m., or a considerable time after sundown, and 

 the next morning there was not an individual, winged or wingless, to 

 be seen above the ground, whilst the nest itself was comparatively empty, 

 and the few occupants seemed in a dazed condition. As supporting 

 Hiiber's views, quoted by Duncan {Transformations of Insects, p. 205), 

 Abbott considers that ants that leave the nest do not return again 

 to the original nest. 



The similarity of these wmged hosts to smoke is sometimes 

 very remarkable and well illustrated by the account given by a 

 daily paper, of the occurrence of an immense swarm of ants around 



