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WilliaDi Morton Wheeler 



bees are therefore unable to found colonies, according to Schnei- 

 der and Leuckart. They keep flying about till late in June and 

 then die, whereas uninfested queens have started their colonies 

 and no longer fly at large alter the beginning or ni'ddle of May. 

 Sphaerularia occurs only in the queens, and has never been found 

 in those that have become mothers of colonies. It would be in- 

 teresting to know whether the colony-founding instincts of 



Fig. 7. A, normal female of Lasius alienus; B, mermithogyne of same species (After Mrazek.) 



infested queens show the same tendency to atrophy as the ovaries. 

 As the bees become infected in their imaginal instar, apparently 

 while seeking their winter quarters, the parasites can produce 

 no modifications in the external characters. 



The Lasius mermithogynes described above recall some ob- 

 servations of Kiinckel d'Herculais ('94) on Algerian grass-hoppers 

 (Stauronotus maroccanus and other species) infested with flies 

 of the genus Sarcophaga. The maggots of the flies are entopara- 

 sitic, devouring the fat-body, and, according to Kiinckel d'Her- 

 culais, also absorbing the oxygen dissolved in the blood-plasma of 



