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Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. [Vol. XXIII, 



where] there is a moderate annual rain-fall and where the forests are of a 

 niesopln1:ic character. I have never seen it in the dry western portions of 

 the state nor have I heard of its occurrence in the more humid eastern coun- 

 ties, in Louisiana or the other Gulf States. It was seen as far south as 

 Alice in Nueces County, and probably occurs as far north as Waco and 

 Fort Worth. It certainly could not endure the winters of the "Panhandle" 

 region nor even those of the extreme northeastern portion of Texas. Even 

 in the vicinity of Austin large colonies of Atta texana are rather sporadic. 

 It prefers the neighborhood of rivers and creeks and especially the rich soil 

 of the pecan and the pure sand or somewhat clayey soil of the post-oak 



Fig. 7. Attn texana Buckley; male, dealated female, soldier and series of workers; natural 

 size. (Photograph by Messrs. C. T. Brues and A. L. Melander.) 



woods. In such spots one is always sure of finding it along the banks of 

 the Colorado, Comal and Guadeloupe Rivers. 



The nests are nearly always situated in places fully exposed to the sun, 

 in clearings of the woods, in fields, along roads, etc. In some localities, 

 as at Elgin, I have found them in the sand-ballast of the railway tracks. 

 The nests can be recognized even at a distance as very flat mounds usually 

 not more than one to two dcm. high, with very uneven surface and con- 

 sisting of sand or soil of a lighter color than the surface of the surrounding 

 country. Closer inspection shows that these mounds, which may cover an 

 area of many square meters, have been derived from the walls of craters. 



