SIB JOICN irBBOCK ON ANTS, BEES, AND WABPS. 



283 



experiment; and I arranged them so that the violet followed 

 the red. As far, therefore, as position was concerned, this gave 

 violet rather the best place. The glasses used were dark violet, 

 dark red, dark green, and yellow, the yeUow being distinctly the 

 most transparent to our eyes. 



The result is very striking, and in accordance with the observa- 

 tions on Formica fusca. In 40 experiments the pupse were carried 

 under the yellow 19 times, under the red 16 times, and under the 

 green 5 times only, while the violet was quite neglected. After the 

 first twenty observations, however, I removed it. 



I then tried a nest of Cremastogaster scutellaris with vjolet glass, 

 purple glass, and red, yellow, and green solutions, formed re- 

 spectively with fuchsine, bichromate of potash, and chloride of 

 copper. The purple looked almost black, the violet very dark ; the 

 red and green, on the contrary, very transparent, and the yellow 

 even more so. The yeUow was not darker than a tincture of 

 saffron. The latter indeed, to my eye, scarcely seemed to ren- 

 der the insects under them at all less apparent; while under 



LINN. JOUKN, — ZOOIOGT, VOL. XIV. 20 



