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Genus Bothriomyrmex. 



The method employed by the Dolichoderine parasite Bothrio- 

 myrmex atlantis, as observed by Santschi in Tunis in January 

 and Februar}^ 1906, is as follows : The female, after the marriage- 

 flight, wanders about in search of a nest of Tapinoma niger- 

 rimum, where she is seized and dragged into the nest by the 

 neuters. She appears to be attacked in the nest, but climbs 

 on to the brood, or on the back of the queen, when she seems 

 to be safe from attack. While on the back of the queen, she 

 kills her by cutting on her head. After the death of the Tapin- 

 oma queen the intruder is less and less attacked, and in the 

 end she is accepted. Eventually the host workers die out 

 and a pure Bothriomyrmex colony remains. 



FoREL was the first to find a mixed colony, in this case of 

 B. meridionalis and Tapinoma erraticum, in the islands of Lago 

 Maggiore in 1874. 



As we have seen that T. erraticum, and others, generally 

 have many queens, it would probably be a rare occurrence for 

 the parasitic queen to succeed in her object. 



FoREL in a recent paper suggests that the Bothriomyrmex 

 may enter a queenless nest of Tapinoma and be accepted. 

 DONISTHORPE some years ago found a nest of T. erraticum 

 which contained no queen. 



It may be of interest to mention that Santschi thinks the 

 Bothriomyrmex female is helped considerabl}' by mimicry, 

 having the size, colour, and also the smell of Tapinoma. 



Genus Wheeleriella. 



The degenerate permanent ])arasite Wheeleriella santschii, 

 which has no workers, was discovered b\- Santschi in Tunis. 

 He showed that after mating, which, as with Anergates, takes 

 the form of adelj)hogamy (the j)airing of brothers and sisters), 

 the females leave the parent nest and wander about in the neigh- 

 bourhood of nests of the host, Mononiorium salonionis, and seem 

 actually to be assisted into the nest by the Mononiorium workers, 

 who carry them in when the female does not enter of her own 

 accord. The workers then as.sassinate their own (jueen and 



