1906.] Wheeler, Founding of Colonies by Queen Ants. 53 



namely F. integra, nepticula and the different forms of sanguine a, can 

 be temporary hosts of consocians, that I have not thought it necessary 

 to consider them in this connection. F. incerta, therefore, remains as 

 the only host species. 



The experiments recorded in my former paper were avowedly in- 

 complete, since they were all performed with consocians females that 

 had, during some portions of their lives at least, been living with 

 incerta workers. It was necessary, therefore, to observe the behavior 

 of incerta in the presence of recently hatched consocians females. 

 From a number of experiments performed with such females during 

 the past summer I select a few of the more suggestive. 



Experiment 6. July 21, 4.30 p.m. An artificially dealated consocians 

 female was placed in a nest with 20 incerta workers and several worker cocoons 

 taken from one of the most vigorous colonies found during the entire summer. 

 he workers were unsually large and more like the workers of pure schaujussi 

 but with the coloration and pilosity of incerta. The female seemed disinclined 

 to approach the workers which were brooding over their cocoons, but she 

 moved towards them when the illumination of the chamber was reversed. She 

 was at once seized by a worker and showered with formic acid. She escaped to 

 a comer of the nest. By 5.15 p.m. she had returned, mounted the pile of 

 cocoons and was licking the workers, who were submitting to this treatment 

 as if it were a matter of course. A few moments later she fed one of the workers 

 and then kept alternating between feeding and caressing the incerta with com- 

 ical rapidity and perseverance. The colony was watched till 7.45 p.m. but 

 no further hostilities were seen. July 22, 7 a. m. The previous night had been 

 cold and the female seemed to have passed it hanging from the roof-pane in 

 a comer of the nest. Later as it grew warmer she returned to the incerta and 

 their brood, caressed and fed the workers and took food from their lips. Onlj'- 

 once during the day was a worker seen to tug for a few moments at one of 

 her antennae. On the four following days (July 23 to 26) no hostilities were 

 observed. The consocians female had been definitively adopted. 



Experiment 7. July 8, 4 p.m. Three artificially dealated female con- 

 socians (Nos. I, 2, and 3) were introduced into a nest containing 20 incertv 

 workers and numerous worker and male cocoons. About half of the workers 

 were callows. Very little hostility was displayed towards the intruders. July 

 9, 8 a.m. One of the females (No. i) was found dead in the light chamber 

 and the remaining pair were quarrelling with each other. On separating, one 

 of them mounted the pile of cocoons and began assiduously to feed and lick 

 the callows. This female was finally pulled away from the brood by an in- 

 certa worker. At 11.35 •^•^J- ^^e two females were seen rolling about in a fierce 

 scrimmage. They finally separated no worse for the struggle and one of them 

 was dragged about the nest by an incerta worker. The other went to the pile 

 of cocoons but soon returned and pounced on the dragged queen, biting her 

 thorax and petiole and then pulling her legs till she squirmed with pain. The 

 female then released her hold and a worker incerta came up and pinioned her 

 by the hind leg. At 1.15 p.m. the two females were again detected in the 



