Notes on Indian Ants, 
201 
Meranoplus rothneyi, rorel_, in litt. 
This new species frequented the Residency compound^ 
Bolghetty, Cochin^ and could be found in some numbers 
running about the little patches of silver-sand which are 
dotted amongst the grass. A small species of Mutilta 
(M. pusilla, Smith) also frequents the same spots and 
mingles with the ants. 
Myrmicaria fodiens, Jerdon, 
is very common in Madras, Bangalore, and Cochin, and 
is everywhere a great constructor of earthworks ; but in 
a grand old park- like compound in Madras, I came across 
a number of nests where the normal type thrown up 
round trees, posts, or against fences, was departed from, 
and seemingly in an exuberance of architectural skill and 
ambition. 
Myrmicaria had developed three new and distinct 
forms of nest. 
1. The Yolcanic-cone shape. 
2. The Dice-box shape. 
3. The Tall-hat shape. 
The dimensions in each case varied somewhat, but 
roughly ranged from a base of 12 to 14 inches diameter, 
and a height of 8 to 10 inches. All were situated quite 
clear of tree trunks, and some altogether in the open. 
The cone and dice-box shaped nests were very well built 
and nicely finished ; the third form was somewhat irre- 
gular, but had a strong resemblance to the John Bull 
tall-hat, as we know it in the pages of Punch,^' and it 
may be this shape was the outcome of the dice-box 
exaggerated and badly built ; but it was curious how 
the 6ne granules of earth could be made to hold to- 
gether in the curl-over which formed the brim. 
The colony of M. fodiens, established under the big 
banyan-tree in Barrackpore Park, which is described in 
the Proc. Ent. Soc. (Feb. 24th, 1892), and also mentioned 
in Our Ants,'^ as being constantly under my notice 
from 1872 to 1886, I found still flourishing in January, 
1894 (or presuming that no break had occurred between 
my last visit in March, 1886, and my next visit in 
January, 1894), showing a continuous residence in one 
spot of twenty-two years. I must say I fully expected to 
be disappointed in this instance, for as I approached my 
