No. 403.] ECITON SUMICHRASTI NORTON. 571 
the pupz of ants, others the legs and dissected bodies of various insects. 
I was surprised to see in this living nest tubular passages leading down to 
the center of the mass kept open just as if it had been formed of inor- 
ganic materials. Down these holes the ants who were bringing in booty 
passed with their prey. I thrust a long stick down to the center of the 
cluster, and brought out clinging to it many ants holding larve and pupe, 
which probably were kept warm by the crowding together of the ants. 
The workers of the Texan species of Eciton have a very 
disagreeable odor unlike that of other ants. It closely resem- 
bles the vile odor of the neuropteron Chrysopa. The females 
of E. sumichrasti, on the contrary, have a mild, pleasant odor. 
The males of Eciton, 
formerly described as 
species of Labidus, are 
frequently taken about 
the electric lights in 
dwellings and in the 
streets of Austin. I 
have seen three 
species, but two of 
these, from their size 
and coloration, can 
hardly belong to any 
of theabove-mentioned 
species of Eciton, so 
that the workers of at 
least two more species | $ 
have not yet been ri, .— Ecitophil phyBinid beet e 
found in this vicinity.! m e cm Mu 
In conclusion some mention may be made of a few myrmeco- 
philes encountered in the nests of Eciton. With E. omnzvorum 
occurred a few specimens of a small histerid beetle (presum- 
ably Echinodes setiger Lec.). The peculiar ectoparasitic mite 
referred to above may also be included among the ecitophiles. 
Of greater interest is a small staphylinid beetle (Fig. 4), 2.75 mm. 
! Cresson (Synopsis of the ‘Hymenoptera of America, North of Mexico, 
Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc., Suppl. Vol., Phila. (1887), p. 259) enumerates six species 
of Labidus as occurring in Texas. If these are really distinct species, there must 
be at least an equal number of species of Eciton in the State. 
