;5.vi 



one ciiii sec wry cjisilv the sii]t|)liiiil iiiii' <>( llic ii;iii\c ;nil> 1»\- 

 tllis sjXM'ios. ; 



OKIOIX. 



('(•iisidcriiiii' I lull llic li;il)its of this species were first studied 

 ('Nteiisivelv hy I'l'dl'essdr Ileer (IST)!^, lS.-)(i) in AFadeirn, and 

 the name (I'Jco/ilil/iord piisilhi. liiveii to it hy him, it is oidv 

 iiatiii'al foi' I>i'()\vii (lS(i;)j to cdiisiihT this ant ])eenliai' to 

 that islaii(L 



fiivestig-atioiis of recent years ha\-e demonstrated that /'. 

 )ii('(i(ic('plinl(i is cosnio])olitaii, at h'ast in the tropics and sidi 

 tro])ics. Dr. Wheeler informs jne that the sjx'eics seems to 

 ha\(' come from Madaiiascar oi- Africa oi'ii2,inally, for it hclonus 

 to a j>-i'on]) of /'/ick/oIc \vhi(di is hest rei)res(nted in those 

 reii'ions. ) 



There is no i-ccord of the time when this ant was inti'o 

 <lnced into Hawaii, hnt \)v. Perkins (101;)) states that escn 

 durin<>' the last twentv years it has occni)ied somc' considerahle 

 areas previously free from it. ( Blaekl)nrn and Kirln- (ISSO) 

 r(H'or(lc(l it nndei- the name l^lichlolc piisiUa Jleer, remarkini;- 

 that it was "one of the commonest ants in Oahn, and pi'ol)al)ly 

 (dsewhere."' ) 



ois'i'iniuTiox. 



It is an extremely easy nuittei' foi' ants to i)c disti'ihnted 

 hy shi])pini>', for it is a common experience' to find them in 

 packages of mereliandise npon the wharv(>s. A o-ood illustra- 

 tion of this fact was recorded hy Eckai't (1!)()2), who i-eceived 

 a l)arr(d of horcM'-infested seed-cane fi'om Demerara, wliicdi 

 u])(»n (t])eninu- up was found to he swarming with 1\ mcija- 

 rcphala. 



The range of these ants is largely conti'olled hy (dimatic 

 conditions. They are not tolerant of cold weather, and a])pai'- 

 ently, extremes of hnmi<lity are vi'vy injuidous to them. 



Giranlt (1915) has recorded the destruction of vasi num- 

 hei's, (]\w to slight frost in (Queensland: hnt his last statement 

 that the heaj)s of dead all seemed to he in ruts, might imply 

 that water came in as an additional death-faetoi-. On sevei-al 

 occasions, while in Fiji durinu' li*l."I, L <il)ser\('<l similai' idles 



