2G0 



PSYCHE. 



[October, igoi 



A CHECK-LIST OF THE MASSACHUSETTS FORMICIDAE, WITH SOME 



NOTES ON THE SPECIES. 



BY GEO B. KING, LAWRENCE, MASS. 



Among the many branches of Ento- 

 mology, I know of none more interesting, 

 so full of wonder and amazement, as the 

 study of the ants, whose habits and cus- 

 toms indeed in many instances approach 

 those of man. Why there are not more 

 observers making a special study of these 

 interesting creatures, it is hard to com- 

 prehend. It is hoped, however, that the 

 time is not far distant, when some men 

 of means will see fit to leave at least a 

 portion of their great wealth to be used 

 for special research in the collecting 

 and the study of our ants. I have read 

 with much interest, the two recent arti- 

 cles in this journal, translated by Mr. A. 

 P. Morse, of the results of Dr. Augusta 

 ForeFs brief study of our American ants. 

 He indeed observed many interesting 

 things for so short a visit. His finding 

 of the beginning of a formicary of Cam- 

 ponotus marginatits, that is, the female 

 with some cocoons is interesting. This 

 I have observed frequently with Ca7n- 

 ponotus piclus and C. lignipcrdus. At 

 Andover, Mass., sometimes alone, again 

 with young larvae, and occasionally the 

 female with from one to five small work- 

 ers. The mounds of Fonnka obscuripcs 

 I ha\e found several times. They can- 

 not be called rare of F. siibsericea, these 

 are very seldom met with ; four I think 

 is all observed by me. Only on one 



occasion have I seen a mound inhabited 

 by Lasiiis flams. This was in Methuen, 

 Mass., in a meadow where there were ' 

 two good sized mounds all covered with 

 growing grass. The openings were on 

 the top of each nest. 



Now just a passing notice on the rec- 

 ords of the occurrence of ants in Massa- 

 chusetts. Mr. E. A. Schwarz in his ac- 

 count of the Myrmecophilous Coleoptera 

 found intemperate North America (Proc. " 

 ent. soc. Wash. vol. i, 1890) cites 

 eight species of ants which proved to be 

 myrmecophilous species, found by Mr. 

 Blanchard at Lowell, Dracut, and Tyngs- 

 borough, Mass., viz.: Fonnka exsectoides, 

 F. schaufussii, F. fa sea. La sins nigcr, Cam- 

 ponotiis pktiis, C. peiinsylvanuHs, Aphae- 

 iwgastcr fiilva and Tapioma sessile. Dr. 

 Hamilton in his Catalogue (Can. Ent. 

 vol. 20, 1888) refers to Mr. Blanchard's 

 findings, but gives no names of the ants. 

 Dr. Packard in his guide to the study of 

 insects 1869, cites Myrmica molesta, 

 [Sflknopsis molesia Say,) Formica sajigui- 

 nca, var. rubicitnda, Em, F. pennsylvaiii- 

 ciis, Camponotiis sp., and C. hcrailanea . 

 Dalla Torre's catalogue, 1893, only cites 

 one species from Mass., Stigmatomma 

 pallipes, Hald. In 1896 there were 261 

 recorded species from North America. 

 Of this number we now know 55 to be 

 found in Mass. All of these have been 



