PSTCHE. dll 
see the aphides, crowded quite closely, 
receiving the caresses of their protec- 
tors, and, as usual, rewarding them with 
an abundance of honey-dew. 
Thinking to watch them a little more, 
I removed the branch bearing the colony 
to my room, and placed it in a vase of 
water which was kept standing in a shal- 
low dish filled with water. While I was 
carrying them home, the ants at first 
seemed considerably disturbed by the 
motion, and quite frequently came out 
singly or in groups of two or three, ran 
about, exploring the leaves and smaller 
twigs, and then commonly returned to the 
nest and reentered it as if satisfied. Oc- 
casionally one reached my hand and then 
showed the same fury manifested on the 
first disturbance, but care was taken to 
prevent the return of these, and the 
others soon ceased to notice the unusual 
motion. After they were safely placed 
in my room, tle cessation of the motion 
produced much the same excitement as 
its commencement; but, like the first, 
this did not last long. For a short time 
the ants seemed restless in their new 
quarters, and scouts occasionally ex- 
plored the twigs and leaves, sometimes 
going on the vase and as far as to the 
water in which it stood; but so far as 
could be seen, these were all content to 
return. Rarely one would go to the 
water as if to drink, and then return to 
the nest; and I am positive that some 
individuals never left the nest. In this 
way I kept them for about two weeks, 
in which time the leaves had partially 
dried, and, their food being less abun- 
dant, some of the aphides left the shel- 
ter and moved to better parts of the 
branch, but they still obtained enough 
food to produce a considerable quantity 
of honey-dew, and were followed by 
some of the ants, whose attentions were 
constant. Once in a while I would find 
one of the ants or aphides drowned in 
the water below, but it always appeared 
that it had fallen from the branch, and 
had not been drowned in attempting to 
leave the colony. Finally the remainder 
were put in alcohol. The ants proved 
to be workers of Crematogaster lineolata 
Say; not having winged individuals, I 
did not attempt to identify the aphides. 
Both, with the nest, have been placed in 
the biological collection of the Museum 
of Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, 
Mass. 
The architecture of ants, in a number 
of forms, is matter of every-day obser- 
vation, their nests and covered ways 
often being seen. That they frequently __ 
take their wards, the aphides and coccids#@@ 
into their nests is sufficiently well known, = 
whether these nests are in hollow plants 
(Cecropia), beneath stones, or in the 
ground ; but this is the first case that has 
come under my observation in which a 
species has erected a shelter over aphides 
in a place not commonly chosen for its 
nesting. In structure and composition, 
the nest I have described is not unlike 
those formed by the same species upon 
fallen logs and in similar situations. 
Here, however, from their entire be- 
havior, I am led to believe that they had 
taken up their residence at a considerable 
distance from the ground, and, obtaining 
food and drink from their herd, remained 
constantly upon the plant, seldom leaving 
the immediate vicinity of the nest. 
