2 
Psyche 
Methods 
[Vol. 93 
Field observations were made at several Queensland localities in 
August-September, 1983, of which the following sites are discussed 
below: (1) 10 km SE Kenilworth (26°40'S, 152°47'E), 340 m, dense 
Eucalyptus forest; (2) Mt. Coot-tha, near Brisbane (27°29'S, 
152°58'E), 160 m, mixed wet sclerophyll forest; and (3) St. Lucia, 
Brisbane (27°30'S, 153°01'E), 15 m, urban parkland on the Univer- 
sity of Queensland campus. Voucher specimens of Rhytidoponera 
metallica from these localities have been deposited in the Australian 
National Insect Collection (ANIC), CSIRO, Canberra and the 
Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), Harvard University. 
Evidence suggests that R. “metallica” is composed of a complex of 
sibling species (Crozier, 1981; cf. Brown, 1958), and the southeast- 
ern Queensland populations may not be conspecific with R. metal- 
lica sens. str. (type locality: Adelaide, South Australia). 
Field-collected queens of Rhytidoponera from St. Lucia were 
maintained in the laboratory in moist plaster-of-Paris nests. Each 
nest consisted of a glass-covered chamber with the dimensions 40 X 
25 X 5 mm, in a block of plaster measuring 85 X 55 X 10 mm. A 
single exit, 4 mm wide, led to a foraging arena 85 X 1 10 mm in area. 
After a colony size of approximately 50 workers was attained, colo- 
nies were provided with larger nests. Colonies were fed small 
arthropods (mostly Drosophila) on a daily basis and droplets of 
honey about once a week. A small quantity of clean sand was pro- 
vided to allow construction of a cocoon-spinning matrix for the first 
larvae. Censuses of brood and adults were taken every 3 weeks for 
the first 9 weeks of colony development, and at weekly intervals 
thereafter for the first year of growth. 
Results 
Field observations 
While conducting field work in eastern Queensland in August- 
September, 1983 I frequently encountered foraging workers of Rhy- 
tidoponera metallica (s.l.), and I dissected several typical, worker- 
reproductive colonies, i.e. colonies with workers and (sometimes) 
males, but no queens. At three locations in southeastern Queensland 
I unexpectedly encounted alate queens of R. metallica : 
(1) While collecting for a period of one hour in Eucalyptus forest 
10 km SE Kenilworth (25 August, 1983), I located a single Rhyti- 
