24 



Observations about the Habits of some 

 South Australian Ants. 



Bt J. Gr. Otto Teppee, F.L.S., Corr. Memb. 



[Read February 7, 1882.] 



[Abridged.] 



My own observations refer principally to tbe forming of new 

 nests, tbougb being only made Haphazard, tbey are not en- 

 titled to tbe authoritative weight of Sir J. Lubbock's, yet they 

 may probably furnish hints to others to clear up the question. 



The first incident to be related as bearing on this point 

 occurred when I was still a youth. While walking along the 

 edge of a lagoon, where the water had thrown up small pieces 

 of dead timber, bark, &c., w^hich I turned up in the search for 

 insects, I came across a small number of workers of the com- 

 mon brown Formica clinging to the under side of a piece of 

 thick Eucalyptus bark that had evidently floated ashore in 

 this position, being still within the reach of the larger wavelets. 

 They occupied the only moderately dry spot, and had no female 

 or eggs with them. Without intending any particular experi- 

 ment, but meaning simply to give the castaways a chance of 

 escape, I took the piece of bark up and placed it on the driest 

 spot near. Such pieces of bark being capital traps for various 

 species of Coleoptera it was visited consecutively at irregular 

 periods, while the ants were regularly noticed. For some 

 time they were content with the habitation with which chance 

 had furnished them ; but gradually getting bolder and 

 venturing more frequently forth for food, they found that they 

 had no near neighbours, which indeed was the case, as an ex- 

 ceptionally high flood had destroyed all ants' nests for some 

 distance the year before. 



After some weeks, though, the beginning of the sinking of a 

 shaft was noticed, and at some later visit all the ants had 

 removed to their underground suite, of the growing dimensions 

 of which the increasing height of the characteristic wall of 

 pellets ejected from the shaft, and surrounding it, gave 

 evidence. This shaft had been formed near the edge of the 

 piece of bark so as to afford them shelter from sun and rain 

 until perfectly established. For it must 'be mentioned that 



