Miscellaneous. 423 
seen standing over the neophyte, who seemed to be weak, its femora 
bent forward, the tarsi and tibize still nearly reaching the end of the 
abdomen, indicating the manner in which the legs were folded in 
the cocoon. Immediately after release the mother gave the young 
imago nourishment in the manner above described. 
At this date there were in the formicary, beside the mature ants, 
two full-grown larve, very fat, two about half-grown, and several 
smaller ones, with the eggs in different stages of development. The 
two oldest were then evidently about ready to spin, but what chance 
they could have, with the mature ants continually trampling over 
them, standing them up on end or hauling them cff to a distance, 
Mr. Potts was at a loss to imagine. From the mouth of one he 
observed a strand of silk protruding, but the workers came, appa- 
rently trying to grasp it, and left him in doubt whether their object 
was to help or hinder the weaving process. 
August 14, one of the two full-grown larve was found wrapped 
in its winding sheet. The web was very thin and the motion of 
the larva readily seen through it. The other larva seemed almost 
totally quiescent, but careful examination with a Coddington lens 
showed some muscular action in the posterior segments of the body. 
Their state of comparative torpor was thought to immediately pre- 
cede the act of spinning. At this date the workers had become less 
nervous in their motions, and the female seemed to have resigned 
most of her labours to them, resting much of the time quietly in one 
place. 
August 16, the third worker had emerged and was found quite at 
home in attending to its duties. The second grown larva was then 
still uncovered and quiescent. Very close observation was required 
to show that it still breathed, and it made no other visible motion. 
These observations of Mr. Potts establish or confirm the following 
points :—(1) The manner of depositing the eggs, which, as well as 
the larvee, are cared for by the queen until the workers are matured ; 
(2) the stages in the development of the egg and larva are partially 
noted; (3) the time required for the change from larval to pupal 
state is about thirty days; (4) about the same period is spent in 
the pupa state, the entire period of transformation being about sixty 
days; (5) the work of rearing the first broods of Camponotus 
begins in the latter part of June or early in July ; (6) about twenty- 
four hours are spent by larve in spinning up into cocoon; (7) the 
ant-queen probably assists the callow antling to emerge from its 
case; (8) not only the larvee, but occasionally also the antlings, are 
fed by the queen; (9) the young workers, shortly after emerging, 
begin the duty of nurses, caring for the eggs and tending the larvee. 
Some of these points thus abstracted and formulated by him Dr. 
McCook was subsequently able to confirm from observations upon 
the same queen. His thanks were due to Mr. Potts for the intel- 
ligent and successful manner in which his suggestions had been 
carried out.—Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., Dec. 1883, p. 303. 
