1985] 
Stuart — Leptothorax curvispinosus 
73 
1982). For these reasons, and for convenience, I suggest the con- 
tinued use of the term “budding” to refer to the formation of daugh- 
ter nests which contain brood and are spatially distinct from the 
parental nest, but which may or may not contain reproductives, and 
which may or may not become truly autonomous. 
Materials and Methods 
The 57 colonies in this experiment were collected in early June 
from acorns and hickory nuts at several sites in the vicinity of Har- 
persfield, Ohio. The inhabitants of each nest were treated as sepa- 
rate colonies and established in separate artificial nests and foraging 
dishes in the laboratory (see Alloway 1979). The artificial nests were 
composed of two parts. The nest base consisted of the top of a small 
plastic petri dish (dia = 4.0 cm; ht = 0.5 cm) painted green and 
drilled with a small hole (dia = 0.3 cm) in one side to serve as a nest 
entrance. The nest lid was made of transparent orange Plexiglas, 
milled with a groove so as to fit tightly onto the nest base. With the 
lid in place, the internal volume of these nests was approximately 4 
cm 3 (± 0.2). Each artificial nest was housed in a foraging dish con- 
sisting of a large plastic petri dish (dia = 14.5 cm; ht = 1.5 cm). Each 
foraging dish also contained a water bottle (dia =1.1 cm; length = 
3.5 cm) stoppered with cotton and held in place at one side of the 
dish by a dab of plasticene. A microscope slide (2.5 X 7.5 cm) 
served as a food platter in each dish. Water bottles were refilled 
weekly, and fresh food was added to the food platter 3 times per 
week. The food was similar to that formulated by Bhatkar and 
Whitcomb (1970), but was prepared in bulk, frozen, and then 
thawed prior to use. Food platters were replaced periodically. The 
colonies were cultured on open laboratory benches illuminated by 
fluorescent lights mounted approximately 50 cm above the bench 
surface and providing an illumination of 1830-2150 lux. A daily 
photoperiod of 14L:10D, and a temperature of 22° C ± 1° were 
maintained. 
The experiment was initiated in early July, by adding a second 
artificial nest to each foraging dish, such that the two nest entrances 
were facing each other, approximately 4-5 cm apart. Each colony 
was briefly observed for budding on days 1, 2, 5, 11, 13, 18, 29 and 
76 following initiation. A colony was considered to be polydo- 
mous if brood was present in both artificial nests when observed. 
