THE HARVESTING ANTS OF FLORIDA. 75 



including tlie workers major and minor and 

 soldiers, and established them iii a glass jar 

 which I placed in my study. They very 

 soon commenced work, tunnelling the earth 

 and erecting a formicary, as nearly as they 

 could after the pattern of their home on the 

 barrens. The mining was done entirely by 

 the small workers. At first they refused all 

 animal food, but ate greedily fruit and sug- 

 ar ; and all kinds of seeds which I gave them 

 were immediately taken below, out of sight. 

 I now visited the mounds on the barrens, 

 and found abundant indications of their 

 food-supplies. At the base of each mound 

 was a heap of chaff and shells of various 

 kinds of seeds. The chaff was Aristida speci- 

 formis, which grew plentifully all about. I 

 also found many seeds of EnphorUa and Cro- 

 ton, and several species of leguminous seeds. 

 But the ants were not bringing seeds in at 

 this time of year: they were only carrying 

 out the discarded seeds and chaff; and only 

 on the warmest days were they very active. 

 But they do not wholly hibernate. Even 

 after a frosty night, by ten o'clock in the 

 morning many of the hills would be quite 

 active. 



I sent specimens to the Rev. Dr. M'Cook, 

 of Philadelphia, to be named, and he iden- 



