3 14 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXI, 



in the pine-barrens about Lakehurst, New Jersey. I have received 

 from Mr. H. L. Viereck a single female belonging either to this variety 

 or to the preceding subspecies. It was collected at Pablo Beach, 

 Florida, April 8, by Mr. P. Laurent. As the gaster is lacking, the 

 specimen cannot be more accurately identified. 



The Relationships and Habits of the North American 



dolichoderi. 

 A comparison of the foregoing Dolichoderi with one another and 

 with the palasarctic D. quadripunctatus suggests a common ancestral 

 form for both the Old and New World species. D. plagiatus, especially, 

 seems to be very closely related to quadripunctatus; the males of the 

 two species being, in fact, almost indistinguishable. Among the 

 American species we can pass, on the one hand, from the highly 

 foveolate plagiatus through successively smoother subspecies like 

 pustulatus and davisi to the very smooth and brightly colored marice. 

 The typical taschenbergi, on the other hand, with its extremely 

 melanistic variety gagates, may also be derived from some smoother 

 form of plagiatus, like pustulatus. These hypothetical derivations 

 are indicated in the following diagram: 



taschenbergi 



var. gagates 



subsp. davisi 



subsp. piistidatiis 



var. bcuteiinniclleri 



quadriptwc/atus 



plagiatus 



var. inornatiis 



Dolichoderus 



