Relationship between certain West African Insects. 453 
and the workers seemed sickly. I think it is noteworthy 
that the larvae had all been on one leaf since my last note 
and that this had not been eaten at all; also that, though 
the ant larvae were dead and had dropped down—the last 
one four days ago—yet the Lepidopterous larvae were all 
alive and had even grown a little. The ants certainly 
seem to feed them. 
“| find that if a worker comes across water it drinks, and 
then proceeds to disgorge it for the benefit of any one of 
its thirsty fellows that it may meet, and I think the same 
thing happens in the case of food. Oecophylla attends 
Aphidae and is also very fond of the secretion of Sticto- 
coccus sjstedtv.” 
“March 29, 1912. I have hitherto failed to breed the 
Lycaenid larvae which live in the nests of Oecophylla. 
They appear to be extremely slow-growing. I am still 
watching the larvae, but observation is attended with 
difficulty, because the ants desert if one interferes too much, 
and it is necessary to break open the nest each time one 
wishes to inspect the larvae. The head and neck of the 
larvae appear to be protected against attack, but the ants 
lose no opportunity of seizing other parts. I once saw a 
larva crawling with an ant fastened on to one of its claspers, 
the abdomen only of the ant being visible, as the rest of its 
body was under the lateral fold of skin. I have also seen 
a larva which protected itself by just settling down closely 
on the supporting surface, and when the ants retired it 
raised itself a little and crawled, but when they reappeared 
settled down again.” 
[F. P. Dodd—in his paper in “Entomologist,” 1902, 
p. 184—describes a similar attack by Oececophylla and 
defence by the larva of Liphyra brassolis. | 
“May 13, 1912. I continue to watch the larvae in the 
nests of Oecophylla. They have grown considerably, but 
I have not been able to find pupae as yet. One has to be 
careful not to disturb the ants very frequently or they desert 
the nest.” 
“June 10, 1912. You will have been expecting news 
as to the larvae which live in the nests of Oecophylla. I 
have a pupa at last. I have examined the nests about 
-every fortnight, but my interference has caused the ants 
to remove to a new home nearly every time, and, as the 
larvae have been obliged to wander till they found the nest, 
I presume that some have been lost. To this I attribute 
