August, 1901] 



PSYCHE. 



237 



ground with tlieir antennae, exploring 

 all holes and cracl\s until they find a 

 cavity suited to their needs. Then the 

 removal is executed with an order and 

 celerity which is astonishing. As if by 

 word of command the workers follow 

 and understand each other, and in very 

 little time everything is safe. There is 

 no question of mutual transportation : it 

 is more precisely the system of Tapi- 

 noma. The fact is remarkable in the 

 case of a blind ant which has only its 

 antennae with which to direct itself. 



The American Aphaawgaster which I 

 observed are all great hunters and sub- 

 sist upon the insects which they catch. 

 They are very fond of termites, and 

 when one uncovers and scatters about a 

 nest of termites in a wood, they hasten 

 to feast on these succulent morsels. A. 

 fulva is most common. It varies 

 enormously and nests in rotten logs or 

 under stones, especially in the forests, 

 sometimes in rather large formicaries. 

 A. tcnncsseensis makes immense formica- 

 ries in rotten trunks. I saw one of them 

 near Niagara. In trunks of trees at 

 Morganton and here, at their foot or 

 under the bark, I found rather large 

 formicaries of a beautiful species {la7n- 

 elUdens ox mariae) . Finally A. trcatac, 

 which abounds in the forests at Morgan- 

 ton, Black Mountain, near Mr. Tyson's, 

 and here, in all parts of North Carolina, 

 excavates little nests in the ground (never 

 in logs), sometimes under stones. These 

 nests open by a large, widely open hole, 

 rarely two. The workers go out singly 

 and are fearless hunters. The formi- 



caries are not numerous. I found but 

 one rather large one at Mr. Tyson's 

 and the workers boldly attacked me 

 when I disturbed it. 



The American species of Myrmica 

 have the same habits as the correspond- 

 ing European forms and present noth- 

 ing of interest. It is the same with 

 Lcptothorax. One species of the last 

 makes its nest in curled up dead leaves 

 on the ground. I found it by following 

 a worker which bore a pupa. Dichotho- 

 rax nests here at Faisons in small, dry, 

 fallen branches among the dry leaves of 

 the forest and feigns death. A Myrmi- 

 ca found at Mr. Tyson's and related to 

 M. nigiilosa also feigns death on every 

 occasion. 



I have just found here two formicaries 

 of Pogonomyrmex badius Latr. (=: trans- 

 vcrsus Sm. ^cnidelis Sm.). This species 

 makes, in barren fields, a flat, rounded, 

 dome-crater, covered with little stones. 

 It stings in a terrible fashion. Having 

 attacked it imprudently, I received two 

 stings on the hand and suffer from them 

 still, several hours after. Its stings are 

 more severe and painful than those of our 

 Vcspa germanica oi Europe. As has been 

 remarked by Mrs. Mary Treat this spe- 

 cies does not cultivate any special plant 

 and makes no clearing around its nest by 

 cutting down the plants. But Mrs. Treat 

 was wrong in concluding from this fact 

 that the same holds true for P. mok- 

 facieus of Texas. P. badius gathers sev- 

 eral kinds of seeds ; in demolishing its 

 nest I discovered its granaries which 

 are very flat, but well arranged. 



