: 440 THE AMERICAN NATURALIST. [Vor. XXXV. 
Three of the six Myrmica queens, together with the Lepto- 
thorax males, were preserved in alcohol, as the nest was somewhat - 
over-crowded with the former species and the latter were continu- 
ally escaping. The three remaining Myrmica queens stationed 
themselves some distance apart in the galleries, and each was 
soon surrounded by a coterie of devoted workers. The larve 
and pupa were being cared for in two or three different 
portions of the nest. 
The Leptothorax in their small central nest passed their 
time in fondling and feeding one another or in lying motion- 
less as if asleep, covering the two larvae which had been placed 
in the bottom of the nest. The queen was assiduously fed by 
the workers and was never seen to leave the nest after once 
taking possession of it. On several occasions she was observed 
to throw one of the workers down on its back and to hug and 
kiss it in the most animated manner. It was not easy to 
decide whether this behavior signified maternal affection, the 
presence of some form of the play instinct, or the more prosaic 
feeling of hunger. I incline to the last possibility, although 
the action certainly resembled the affectionate struggles of a 
cat with her kitten. 
During the remainder of this day (August 26) the Lepto- 
thorax nest remained in the condition represented in Fig. 4- By 
8 o'clock the following morning, however, the bottom of the 
nest had been dug somewhat deeper, its narrow entrance had 
been closed up and a new one, equally tenuous, had been 
opened in a different position (Fig. 57). Thetwo larvae had 
become male pupa. By noon the queen had laid three ellipti- 
cal white eggs of rather large size. At 1 P.M. the Myrmica 
workers discovered the hiding place of their little companions, 
and two of them in single file shouldered their way through 
the narrow passage, 7, enlarging it as they proceeded. As soon 
as the head of the first Myrmica appeared in the chamber, the 
Leptothorax, which had been attending to their morning toilet 
and to that of their larvae and to the careful arrangement of 
their eggs, turned to meet the intruders. For an instant I 
fully expected to see a fierce battle, but I had misjudged the 
Leptothorax character. To my surprise the Myrmica 
