MYRMEOOPHILOtrS IfOTES FOR 1918. 



3 



joins the post-petiole to the gaster in normal $ ? . It measures 

 S.Bmm. in length, 



TetraDiorituii caespitum L. — A number of colonies were observed, 

 when I was in the New Forest in July, which were mostly situated in 

 sandy banks ; one little nest, however, which was situated by the side 

 of a road, consisted of a small cone, about 1| in. high, built of tiny 

 pebbles. This ant also occurred in some of the flower beds in the 

 Beaulieu Eoad Hotel garden. All the nests contained winged ? 2 

 and Beckia albina ; in one nest only a $ occurred. 



A large colony was dug up on July 17th, to serve as an observation 

 nest at home, which contained many winged ? ? , numerous ^ ^ , 

 eggs, larvas, and pupae. The Aphid Paracletus ciiiiiciformis, both alate 

 and apterous, was present in numbers. A Coccid (unfortunately sub- 

 sequently lost), and a Spider which the Rev. J. E. Hull tells me is 

 Acartaiichenius (jMecynaryus) longidus Kalezynski J , occurred in the 

 ants' galleries. This may be the same species which I have previously 

 recorded as Acartauchenins sciurilis Camb., and which I discovered 

 new to Britain with the same ant near Rame Head, Cornwall (April 

 19th, 1909) [Proc. Dorset N.H. and A.F. Club, 31, 55, 69 (1910)] . 

 On June 11th and 12th, 1913, I captured specimens of the same 

 spider, also with Tetramorium caespitum, on Lundy Island \^Ent. Rec, 

 25, 268 (1913)] . As to the synonymy I am of course unable to express 

 an opinion; butWasmann records Acartauchenius scurrilis Camb., with 

 the same ant from Bohemia and the Rhineland. 



A specimen of Staphylinus stercorarius 01., was dug up from the very 

 bottom of the nest. Wasmann has recorded S. stercorarius, chiefly 

 with T. caespitum, in Luxemburg, where he always found it deep in the 

 nests. The beetle jDreys on the ants. I have one other record of it 

 with Tetramorium m Britain, when it was taken at Dover in August, 

 1910, by a friend of Mons. Bondroit. In ihe Ent. Piecord iov 1%!^ 

 [25, 90 (1913)] , I gave a list of all the captures known to me of this 

 beetle, with other ants, in Britain. 



[It may be worth while to mention here that my friend Mr. W. E. 

 Sharp tells me that on August 4th, 1918, at Crowthorne, after he had 

 been watching a marriage flight of Acanthomyops {^Chthonolasius) um- 

 hratus, a fine specimen of StajyJiylinus latehricola emerged from one of 

 the holes in the lawn, whence all the winged ants had been pouring. 

 There are also a few other records of S. latehricola having been taken 

 with ants in Britain.] 



CAMPONOTINiE. 



Acanthouiyojjs (JDendrolasius) fuliginosiis Latr. — The virgin $ fuli- 

 ginosus which was accepted by my umbratus ^ ^ on September 3rd, 

 1915 [see Ent. Rec, 33, 23 (1918)] , is still alive and in good health 

 to-day. I have recorded that I strengthened the nest with niger pupae, 

 and published the condition of the colony up to December 31st, 1917. 

 In 1918 the umbratus ^ ^ (all the rest of those brought up from Wey- 

 bridge having been added to the nest), started to kill the niger ^ ^ , 

 and by May 19th only onei remained, this being killed before the end 

 of the month. 



The fuliginosiis J gradually got very swollen again, and on May 

 27th a small bunch of eggs had been laid, which was held up by several 

 umbratus § ^ . June 16th, two packets of eggs were present ; no more 



