1986] 
Ward — Rhytidoponera me tallica 
3 
doponera metallica colony under a rotten log; a partial excavation 
(about two-thirds of the colony) yielded 157 workers, 17 alate 
queens, and numerous larvae. No males or dealate females were 
seen. 
(2) During several hours of field work in wet sclerophyll forest 
on Mt. Coot-tha (1 September, 1983), devoted primarily to the task 
of locating colonies of the very timid species, R. anceps Emery, I 
noted more than a dozen, scattered, individual alates of R. metallica 
resting on low vegetation (leaves, grass stalks, tree roots, etc.), 
apparently in the aftermath of one or more mating flights. About 
half of these alates were females (five queens were collected and 
preserved). 
(3) On the University of Queensland campus, St. Lucia, between 
28-31 August, 1983, there was considerable flight activity of R. 
metallica alates. Most of these alates were males: they were observed 
in moderate numbers (30-40 males at any given time) around R. 
metallica nest entrances on a campus lawn at mid-day. Most indi- 
viduals were dispersing skyward, but a few males were observed 
approaching nests in a low, cruising flight, 20-50 cm above the 
ground. Four alate females of R. metallica were also noted: three of 
these were running on campus sidewalks, the fourth was resting on a 
grass stalk. The alate queens were observed between noon and 3:00 
p.m., and none was associated with a specific nest. Three of the R. 
metallica queens were collected; one died within 5 days, and subse- 
quent dissection showed that she was uninseminated. The two 
remaining queens (acc. nos. 6280 and 6281) were kept in vials with a 
small quantity of earth and leaf litter. They shed their wings, exca- 
vated crude cells, and began laying fertile eggs. On September 17, 
1983 the queens were relocated in plaster-of-Paris nest chambers. I 
also collected a single dealate queen of R. chalybaea Emery on 1 
September, 1983 in a University of Queensland lecture hall (acc. no. 
6297). This queen was treated in the same manner as the R. metal- 
lica queens, and provided a convenient standard for colony growth 
and development, since colony-founding queens are a normal occur- 
rence in this species (Ward, 1983). 
Development of queenright colonies: incipient stages 
The preceding observations established that the early stages of 
colony-founding behavior have been retained in R. metallica 
queens, i.e. they can mate, disperse, undergo dealation, and exca- 
