I QO JOHN L. PRICER. 



are produced. That in this way the life of a colony may come 

 to a natural end, is supported by the following observations : 



i. On June 12, 1906, I came upon a large oak tree which was 

 hollow at the base, and was inhabited by a colony of C. ferm- 

 gineus. Fifty or more males were seen about the opening of the 

 nest in a state of great excitement and the workers were dragging 

 them back into the nest. About a month later I revisited the 

 tree and not a single ant was seen about the place, although I 

 watched it for about two hours. Twice afterwards I visited the 

 tree with the same result. 



2. November 3, 1906, I tore to pieces a large oak stump 

 which was so badly decayed that I could break it to pieces with my 

 hands. It was thoroughly riddled by the work of insects of vari- 

 ous kinds, and showed plainly that it had recently been inhabited 

 by a colony of C. pennsylv aniens, for besides the characteristic 

 appearance of the galleries, I found fragments of workers' bodies, 

 a few pieces of the wings of queens, and five live males and three 

 large workers. Plainly a colony had recently moved from the 

 place or had there reached the natural end of its life. 



3. Colony 6, Table IV., with its 327 workers and 475 males, 

 was very likely a degenerate colony which had about reached the 

 end of its life. This colony was found in an old linden log which 

 was so badly decayed and riddled by galleries which had evi- 

 dently at different times been occupied by the colony, that it was 

 just about to fall in pieces, and the whole scene presented every 

 appearance of age. As is shown in Table VI., under " poly- 

 morphism," this colony contained a comparatively very large 

 per cent, of the largest sized workers and a very small per cent, 

 of the smallest sized workers, and this also is an indication that 

 the colony had existed longer than the natural life-time of the 

 small-sized workers which are produced in such a large proportion 

 the first two years. The large-sized workers were produced later 

 in the life of the colony and hence we might expect to have a 

 larger per cent, of them in a degenerate colony. 



Polymorphism. 

 The principal value of a knowledge of the complete life-history 

 of a colony is, I believe, in the light which it will throw on the 



