426 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OP [July> 



The workers ai'e brown in their general color, and are from four 

 to seven millimeters in length, and, although they arcr apparently 

 alike in all except size, they are here referred to as majors, minors 

 and minims, the majors being from six to seven millimeters long. 

 the minors from five to six, and the minims from four to five. 

 When the colony moves the majors do the main part of the work 

 of transporting the inert young, and they often seize, lift and 

 carry to the new abode such ants as adhere too persistently to the 

 old habitation. The minors appear to do a large part of the scout- 

 ing and purveying. The minims are greatly devoted to the care of 

 the eggs, larvpe and pupre. All assiduously serve the queen, and 

 all engage in battles with enemies. 



The queens are from seven to eight millimeters in length without 

 their wings, and are redder than the workers. The kings are 

 from six to seven millimeters long, with the wings projecting 

 another millimeter beyond the end of the body, and are jet black 

 in color. 



The Avorkers are efficient fighters, and at close quarters will kill 

 Formica fusca, double their bulk. They evince extreme hostil- 

 ity not only to ants of other species, but to those of other or alien 

 colonies of their own species and variety. In this paper the term 

 alien is used to denote a different colony of the same species and 

 variety. Queens of different colonies, when placed together in a nest 

 or a Petri cell, ostracize each other, remaining as far apart as possible. 

 ]f forced into close quarters, they interlock mandibles and push 

 and pull one another until one dies. An alien queen, introduced 

 into and unable to flee from a queenless colony, is attacked by its 

 workers, and though she may make a brave fight, is eventually 

 killed. When a queen is alone she will sometimes fight in defense 



and after a day or two of quiet residence in this abode they showed 

 little disposition to leave it, but carried on their normal occupations with 

 an appearance of contentment. 



In deaninff the cell, the cover was gently removed in a dim light, the left 

 hand was placed snngly over the part of the cell occupied l)y the ant family, 

 and the ants stayed in the agreeable warmth and daikness thus provided for 

 them while the nnficcu])ied part of the cell was cleaned. By externally 

 covering any portion of the cell floor with the black patch, antl setting the 

 cell in a dim light, the ants were made to move to the selected site without 

 serious disturbance or h ss of eggs. 



For prolonged observation of the ants I n^ed a weak light, natural or 

 artificial, hand lenses, and a background, under the glass lloor, of whatever 

 color best showed the object. 



