OUR ANTS. 45 



" On the babits of Myrmecophila acervorum and her relation to the 

 ** ants, I made observations for several months at Prag, by means of 

 *' artificial nests. Acervorum is amicably tolerated by the ants ; but 

 " neither feci nor licked by them, as is the case with Claviger, Lome- 

 '' chusa, AtemeleSf and other 'genuine' guests. I have often 

 '■' observed her cleansing the abdomen of an ant, who seemed to be 

 " pleased by this treatment just as if it came from an ant. Probably 

 " the nourishment of Myrmecophila consists of the excreta of the 

 " ants, or of the Hypopus parasites adhering to the ants. " 



46. PI. Jerdoni (Forel in MS). 



Poona Districts. 



Kanara E. H. Aitken. 



A very minute species. I found it in February, 1890; a great 

 number of ^ were swarming up and down a tree, which was not iu 

 flower, and on which the leaf buds were just opening ; the descend- 

 ing ants were returning ' filled, ' so that there was evidently a 

 source of food-supply at the top of the tree, but whether cattle or 

 glands I failed to discover. 



47. PI. exigua (Forel in MS.) 



Poona Districts. 



Kanara E. H. Aitken. 



Also a very minute species. It is not uncommon in the Dekhan ; 

 the nest is usually under a stone lying on damp ground ; I found 

 most nests below the embankments of the Nira Canal, or on the 

 boundaries of irrigated fields. I have never seen specimens outside 

 the nest, nor obtained much insight into their manners and 

 customs. I noted, however, the extraordinarily large number of 

 apterous ? to be found iu the nests ; in some cases they were 

 almost as numerous as the § , and this, especially, in the stronger 

 communities. 



Gen. 8. Acantholefis (Mayr). 

 The presence of ocelli iu $ of this genus has already been noted; 

 they are also fm'nished with a pair of spines on the metathorax and 

 another on the node of the pedicle. 



