64 
Psyche 
[June 
slowly emerge a worker would grasp it and pull it away. 
She continued to lay eggs for two days; one laid on the 
29th took 15 minutes to be completely extruded. On the 
30th at 8:05 a.m. she was found to be lying on one side, 
with legs folded. The workers were licking her body and 
pulling her about. She showed no movements when she 
was isolated under the microscope, except of the terminal 
pair of gastric segments. These were rhythmically open- 
ing and closing the cloaca, an early cycle taking 20 seconds, 
later cycles taking longer. One lasted 25 seconds and con- 
sisted of 10 seconds of opening and 15 seconds of closing. 
The segments opened to a maximum of 0.7 mm which 
was easily equal to the length of one of her eggs. Twenty 
seven minutes after she was discovered in this condition 
the movements appeared to be in the nature of a retching 
and they later slowed down. Within three hours the 
cloaca was open more than it was closed and she was then 
returned to the observation nest. The workers immediately 
approached, explored her with their antennae, and licked 
her thoroughly as before. By 1 p.m. her terminal seg- 
ments were still moving and an hour later she was pre- 
served in 80% alcohol, where she floated despite an open- 
ing made in her gaster to allow the penetration of the 
fixative. Later sectioning showed that the ovary was 
normal and contained many eggs in all stages of growth. 
There was no sign of a double or binucleate egg. 
All evidence pointed to the existence of the single female 
as the progenitor of this large colony. Her age probably 
dates from some time after the branch of the tree was 
cut off, 12 years earlier. 
B. Brood 
Eggs, larvae and worker pupae were found on the first 
occasion of opening the nest on March 3 and up to August 
5. Soon after April 27 the ants largely abandoned the 
original nest site. 
Media larvae were taken on September 15 and maxima 
to the 25th. Male pupae were taken on June 21 and were 
not again found until September 19 to 25. Adult males 
were taken June 21 — August 5 and two on September 25. 
