1986] Herbers & Tucker — Leptothorax longispinosus 225 
bears no resemblance to field behavior. While sensitive to this 
argument, we nonetheless maintain that our data can be extended to 
evolutionary and ecological considerations. There were no gross 
differences between lab and field behavior; indeed a striking feature 
of these Leptothorax ants is how readily they adapt to laboratory 
conditions (e.g. Wilson 1975). Comparable studies of polydomy in 
these tiny ants cannot be conducted in the field. Given that this 
species adjusts well to captivity and no other avenue of investigation 
is possible currently, we proceed to interpret results of our labora- 
tory studies. 
When the ants were first introduced to the artificial forest floor, 
they not only encountered a new environment that required explo- 
ration, but also met members of other nests. Thus the effects of 
exploring new habitat and encountering new ants were initially 
confounded in this study. However, we argue that, within a week, 
the behavior of these ants came to reflect what might be observed in 
the field. Leptothorax workers seem to become familiar with their 
surroundings quickly; certainly when these ants are placed into a 
new nest box the initial intense exploration wanes within 2-3 days. 
Moreover, the ants would have encountered each other in nature 
under spring conditions, just as they did in the lab. Therefore, while 
the effects of exploring a new habitat cannot be separated out, we 
feel they are relatively inconsequential after the first week of our 
observations. 
The most striking aspect of this study was how critical spring 
activity is in determining a population structure that remains rela- 
tively stable throughout the rest of the summer. The vast majority of 
aggressive encounters (which may result in intraspecific dulosis 
(Alloway 1980)), exploration of new nesting sites, apparent 
recruitment of nestmates (tandem running), and colony subdivision 
occurred within three weeks of the arrival of “spring”. In fact, very 
little behavior of interest to this study was observed after June 15. 
Most ants emerging from the nest in summer were apparently 
searching for food or water; when two individuals met, they usually 
antennated briefly and then went their separate ways. This pattern is 
consistent with their natural history. The only field observations of 
queens walking alone and of workers carrying other workers or 
brood have been recorded in early May. Extra-nest worker activity 
from June- August appears restricted to individual foraging (Herbers, 
pers. obs.). 
