62 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXII, 



Before concluding what I have to say about F . consocians I would 

 insert a few notes on three colonies that have been kept in artificial 

 nests since August, 1904. They may be designated as Colonies A, B, 

 and C. 



Colony A consists of some 500 consocians workers nearly all of which hatched 

 in a Fielde nest from cocoons taken from a large colony during August, 1904. 

 Although kept in a cool room (5o°-6o°F.) all winter, the workers began to lay 

 eggs in great numbers as early as the first of February. The nest was white 

 with eggs during February and March, and many larvae began to hatch during 

 April. The nest was unfortunately much neglected during May while I was 

 absent in Arizona and many of the eggs and young larvae had been eaten. On 

 my return June 3 I found 16 pupEe, all males and of normal size and structure 

 but not enclosed in cocoons. Most of these hatched during July. 



Colony B, which was installed Aug. 19, 1904, consists of three dealated 

 incerta queens and a few workers together with a fertile consocians queen which 

 they had adopted.' The four females have lived together in perfect ainity 

 throughout the year. From time to time eggs and young larvae appeared in the 

 nest, but they were always eaten, so that I was unable to determine which species 

 produced them. By July i all but one of the workers had perished. From 

 this time forth the incerta females took entire charge of the young, carrying 

 them away in their mandibles or standing guard over them when the nest was 

 exposed to the light. The consocians female never exhibited the slightest in- 

 terest in these young. During July, 1905, this diminutive colony was given 

 a few incerta cocoons which soon produced workers. These were, of course, 

 adopted by the queens, who now no longer looked after the young. Up to the 

 present writing (Oct. i) the colony has not succeeded in bringing any of its 

 larvae to maturity. 



The observations on this colony together with those recorded 

 above for F. nitidiventris (p. 52) show that the presence of the queens 

 of the host species may be a matter of indifference in the adoption of 

 a consocians female. If such a queen is present in a wild colony at 

 the time it receives the consocians, she must be dispatched by her own 

 workers under conditions as yet unexplained. 



Colony C. This colony, also installed in August, 1904, consisted of a fertil- 

 ized consocians female and about 40 incerta workers. It passed the winter 

 successfully. The gaster of the female increased greatly in size and took on 

 a whitish hue from the eggs and fat-body shining through the integument. 

 During the spring and summer of 1905, eggs and young larvae were continuously 

 present in the nest, but none of them ever matured. This colony died of neglect 

 during September, 1905. 



The only myrmecophiles seen in the nests of F. consocians at Cole- 

 brook, Conn, were the larvae, of an undetermined species of Microdon. 

 These were found July 7 in a single nest under a large stone lying on a 



' See A New Type, etc., pp. 354, 355- 



