26 University of Michigan 



combing the limb until it was a mere shell, the ants had con- 

 structed numerous chambers between the layers of fallen leaves 

 to a distance of several inches beneath the surface at one end 

 of the stick. Very few ants were present in this complicated 

 series of chambers, but down in the underlying sand two of 

 these irregular passages were nearly blocked with an accumu- 

 lation of beetle wings and the heads and other chitinous parts 

 of the different insects. In the stick itself were a few pupae 

 and a number of pale, recently metamorphosed ants, which were 

 feeble and inactive. In the sand beneath the limb were a num- 

 ber of further excavations, and a swarm of ants was hurrying 

 about the openings. The instability of the sand did not allow 

 accurate observations of this part of the nest, but a few pupae 

 were unearthed at a depth of two inches. No queen was found 

 in this colony. 



A number of the smaller Lasins niger var. americamis- 

 seemed to be living in the same place. They were not noted 

 until the other colony had been considerably disturbed, when 

 quite a number were observed hurrying about the passageways 

 of the Camponoti with perfect freedom and apparent familiar- 

 ity. As no colony was found, it is very possible that the Lasii 

 were simply attracted by the opportunity for plunder. Speci- 

 mens of both species were collected. In the immediate vicinity 

 of this colony in an area of three square yards or less, a mis- 

 cellaneous collection was made. It comprised the following 

 species : Formica subsericea, I, asms umhratus subsp. minutiiSr 

 Aphaenogaster fulva subsp. aquia, and Myrmica punctiventris. 

 None of these had colonies nor were numerous. 



On the following day, September i8, four of the large 

 queens were found in a colony of Lasiiis niger var. americamis 

 (see notes under that species). Four more Camponoti were 

 collected beneath the bark of a fallen oak tree that had become 



