334 Annals Entomological Society of America [Vol. VIII, 
The only species of Diacamma known to occur in Australia 
is the bronzy black and beautifully sculptured D. australe 
(Fig. 2). The remainder and great majority of the species 
of the genus are Indomalayan. I found australe rather 
common in several localities in Queensland (Cairns, Kuranda, 
Koah, Townsville) nesting in the ground in open, sunny and 
more or less grassy places. The nests are craters four inches 
to a foot in diameter and two to six inches high, with a very 
large central opening, often 1 to 114 inches in diameter. This 
opening leads almost directly into a few large chambers situated 
FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 
Fig. 2. Diacamma australe. Workers and cocoon x13. 
Fig. 3. Diacamma australe. Male x12. 
in the crater, and from them galleries descend into the ground, 
apparently to some depth. The outer surface of the crater 
is often covered with growing grass or other plants. The 
colony of ants numbers about 50-100 individuals. They. are 
rather timid and usually retreat into the nest at the slightest 
alarm. Their movements are exquisitely soft and graceful. 
Their sting is rather feeble, except when it comes in contact 
with the thin skin on one’s wrists or between the fingers. In 
the ‘‘Genera Insectorum’’ Emery enumerates 13 species of 
Diacamma and one of these, the Indian D. rugosum, is so well 
known that 22 varieties and subspecies of it have been described; 
