1907.] Whcclcr, Fungus-growing Ants of N'orth America. 759 



almost unprecedented even in that region, as it had not rained for nine 

 months. As I have also found many abandoned nests of this ant in the 

 cedar brakes about Austin, I infer that it not infrequently migrates to more 

 favorable spots. It would be interesting to know whether on such occa- 

 sions the old queens carry over to the new ciuarters portions of the fungus 

 gardens in their hypopharyngeal pocket, or whether the workers transfer 

 the old gardens piece-meal during the cool night hours. The latter would 

 seem to be the more probable procedure. 



T. turrijex is, if amthing, slower and more sedate in its movements 

 than se'pientrionalis. It also "feigns death" more readily and never seems 

 to resent the destruction of its nest. Only a few workers are seen at any 

 one time outside the nest. The slightest disturbance causes these to with- 

 draw into the tiuTet, and one may sit motionless near the nest for many 

 minutes before they muster sufficient courage to ventiu'e forth again. When 

 several of these ants, together with pieces of their gardens, were placed in a 

 dish with a number of sepfrntrionalis Avorkers, a conflict ensued, in which 

 the latter were the aggressors and came off victorious. Thev cai-ried the 

 turrijex garden piece by piece into a wide chamber they had excavated in 

 some sand at the bottom of the dish, but by the following morning they had 

 thrown it all out again and, although thev had been without food for several 

 days, they would have nothing to do with it. 



The breeding season of turrijex must come later in the stimmer than 

 that of septentrional is. During early June I found a few young larva? in 

 the nests of the former species, but the only winged female I have seen was 

 captured in flight by Mr. AV. H. Long on September 27. I have never been 

 able to obtain a male of this species. 



5. Atta (Trachymyrmex) jamaicensis Em. Andre. 



Like the preceding two species of TracJit/myrmex, T. jamaicensis, though 

 confined to the West Indies, occurs only in association with a xeropliAiic 

 flora. It is a larger, much darker ant, with unusually long legs and anteimre. 

 I found it first in the Bahamas, on both Andros and Xew Providence Islands. 

 On the former it was .seen wherever I landed and searched for it — at Big 

 Wood Key, Mangrove Key, on several of the uncharted keys along the 

 course of the Southern Bight and about Crawl Creek. On Xew Providence 

 it was found in the neighborhood of Fort Charlotte. It prefers to nest in 

 the pure white foraminiferous sand of the sea-beach, at or just above high 

 water mark, along the edges of the 'coppets' which consist very largely of 

 coarse grasses, sea-grape, cocoa-plum, wild sapodilla, .sea-lavender and 

 palmettos. Its nest, which is most readily found liy tracking foraging 



