10 
. * 
In Champaign, Ill., May 13, 1887, about a dozen workers of this | 
ant were seen tearing olf fragments from a kernel of sprouted corn just — 
below the surface of the soil, disposing of them much as does the species 
mentioned above. Many other grains were found in different parts of 
the same field similarly injured, being sometimes, indeed, completely — 
excavated. The abundance of this species and the obscurity of the in- 
jury suggest that it may do greater mischief than would appear from 
this statement. 
This species, hke the preceding, feeds in fall upon kernels of corn 
at the tip of the ear in the field, most frequently following injuries by 
other insects, but certainly sometimes hollowing out the grain without 
their aid. 
Its relations to the corn plant louse will be described in another 
article. 
Descriptton.—This is a rather large ant, the worker (Plate I1., Fig. 
1) being about three sixteenths of an inch in length, reddish in color, 
tinted above with brownish, or even blackish, especially on the head and 
abdomen, the legs a little paler. The body is deeply ridged and grooved 
lengthwise, excepting the abdomen, which is smooth and polished. Long 
hairs are scattered sparsely over the body. The long first joint of the 
antenna is bent nearly at right angles near the base, and sharply pointed 
on the outer side of the angle. The club at the end of the antenna is 
formed of three large joints. The thighs are thick, and the spurs at the 
end of the tibize have a row of slender teeth on each side. There are 
two spines projecting backwards from the thorax. The males (Plate 
J., Fig. 2) and females (Plate 1., Fig. 1) are winged, a little larger 
than the workers, and are similar in size and general appearance. ‘The 
males are the darker and the more slender, especially as to the abdomen ; 
the ridges on the thorax are also smoother, and run in various diree- 
tions; and the spines on the thorax are very short and thick. In the 
wings the large cell adjoining the stigma is invaded from the middle of 
its further side by the stump of a vein. 
The sexes were noticed swarming September 14, 1893, after a rain 
following upon a long period of drouth. September 21 a nest was found 
at the foot of a stalk of corn (on which were aérial corn lice attended by 
this ant), this nest containing eggs, larve of several sizes, pups, and 
worker ants, in a chamber about half an inch high and three quarters of 
an inch in horizontal diameter, placed no more than three and a half 
inches below the surface of the ground. 
2. Injuries by small beetles* which gnaw away the kernel from without, 
commonly beginning at the germ. 
Three common beetles have been detected by us and reported by 
others as engaged in a somewhat noticeable injury to seed eorn in the 
* Beetles commonly have four wings, the front pair of which are usually hard, 
thick, and opaque, fitting more or less closely upon the hinder part of the body 
above, and similar in appearance to the rest of the upper surface. Beneath these, 
and next to the body, may be found the membranous hind wings, generally entirely 
concealed except during fli geht. The segment bearing the hind legs is fixedly attached 
to the hind body, but by a movable articulation. They also have a biting mouth 
furnished with two pairs of jaws. 
