G4 [March, 



in a paper " On the capture of Formicarioas Histericlae :" by G. Lewis, 

 r.L.S. (Entomologist, xxi, 289). Referring to the habits of the beetles 

 observed in ants' nests, Mr. Lewis writes : " The ant here which 

 attracts the beetles is an Aphwnogaster, * •* * and makes a nest 

 under stones which are half embedded in the clay." Again : " The 

 HisteridcB are generally found feeding on the larvae, attaching them- 

 selves to them by their mandibles and legs." And, further : " By the 

 middle of May the sun heats the stones, the soil becomes parched, 

 and the Aplianog aster either becomes solitary, or the colonies retire 

 to cooler places. Information on this matter is of much interest to 

 me, as I have been unable to learn what becomes of the HisteridcB (if 

 in the imago) in the hot months of summer and autumn." These 

 observations on ants' nests and their parasites were made by Mr. Lewis 

 on the southern border of the Mediterranean. The sites of the nests 

 of Aphcenog aster, as described, afford a striking contrast to sites 

 inhabited by the Tetramoria, at least in the nature of the material 

 underlying the stones. Throughout the dry heat of several summers 

 we have observed the ants gradually descend deeper into the cool 

 shingle, but in no case to become solitary. The beetles {DiartJirocera 

 formicaphila, MS. name) occur in the nests through the summer, but 

 I have not so far detected them attacking the eggs or larvae of the 

 ants ; I have, however, seen them feeding on the transparent gelatinous 

 substance sometimes left on small stones in the nests, after the ants 

 have removed their eggs and larvse into the inner galleries. Like the 

 Eretmotus, observed by Mr. Lewis away from ants' nests, I have also 

 found Diarthrocera under stones where there were no ants ; and am, 

 therefore, of the same opinion as that gentleman ve^d^v^mg Eretmotus , 

 that Biartlirocera passes its larval and pupal stages apart from the 

 ants, and only enters their nests in the imago state. The new Ripersia 

 mentioned will shortly be described and figured by Mr. Maskell, the 

 able authority on TnTcw Zealand Coccidce. 



In order to ascertain if the Tetramoria form granaries, or 

 otherwise store food in summer and autumn for winter use, we have 

 carefully examined many old nests in the months of April and May, 

 But in no instance did we discover any food stored ; we, however, 

 have invariably noticed a greater number of Aphides and Coccids in 

 their nests during winter than in summer or autumn, and I think it 

 probable that they are brought into the nests by the ants before the 

 winter from beneath the adjacent stones. But on this question and 

 others in their economy, I have not satisfied myself ; there are com- 

 munities of a larger and a smaller species or varieties of Tetramorium 



