1889.1 375 



the Rock, the other near the Sierra Lorca, some three miles beyond 

 San Roque. Another very good-looking place, which I was unfortu- 

 nately able to visit on but few occasions, is the low undulating country 

 behind Algeciras, where, on March 16th of this year, I found seven 

 specimens of 8. acutanguhis in one small nest. At Tangier the clay 

 soil is more predominant, especially near the massive ruins of Tingis 

 or " Old Tangier," three miles east of the present town, which locality 

 was kindly indicated to me by Mr. Lewis. A large amount of moisture 

 is necessary to a successful search, as in fine dry weather any number 

 of nests might be examined without finding a single Sister in them, 

 while a sunny afternoon, after recent rain, was sure to produce one or 

 more specimens. The greatest haul I ever made in one day was at 

 Tangier, on December 20th, 1888 — a day of cold wind and almost 

 incessant driving rain — when I took twenty-four specimens of ant's-nest 

 Sisters, including nine Eretmotus tangerianus. 



The presence of larva? or pupae in the nests is also essential to 

 that of the Histers, and as the ants disappear from under the stones 

 when the hot weather sets in, and retire to cooler places, it is useless 

 to look for their attendant Coleoptera between May and October. I 

 have, it is true, found thriving nests of Aphcenog aster testaceo-pilosa, 

 full of " brood " as early as October 27th, but have not met with any 

 Sisters before November 17th ; the latest date on which they have 

 occurred to me is May 14th, when I found one or two 8. arachnoides 

 with very mature pupae of the ant ; the soil (at Tangier) being then 

 baked almost as hard as a brick by the sun. February and March 

 appear to be the months in which they may be looked for with the 

 greatest prospect of success. 



The search for ant's-nest Sisters entails no small amount of 

 patience and exertion, as I do not think that more than two or three 

 per cent, of the ant's nests contain them, and the stones (which it is 

 as well invariably to turn as gently as possible, and to carefully replace 

 after investigation) are often of great size and weight. Still, it is a 

 pretty sight, and one which compensates for a great deal of strain to 

 the eyes, as well as to the back, to see a Sternoccelis or Eretmotus lying 

 motionless among the hurrying crowd of ants, and then suddenly 

 developing an amount of leg quite surprising in so small a creature, 

 marching off daintily on the tips of its toes (or rather tarsi) with a 

 ludicrous resemblance, in its gait and appearance, to a tiny crab. As 

 Mr. Lewis suggests (I. c, p. 291) the ants appear to regard these 

 intruders with a certain amount of philosophic indifference, as "an evil 

 which they are unable to divert :" their comparatively weak mandibles 



