1937 ] 
Habits of Strumigenys 
105 
lethargic condition may have resulted from the cumulative 
effects of some substance ejected upon it by the Strumigenys. 
With the decreasing activity of the Brachymyrmex the 
Strumigenys became, if possible, more methodical than ever. 
They would deliberately manoeuver the mandibles so that 
they would close on a leg or antenna of the victim and the 
better success of this attack was evidenced by the appear- 
ance of injuries in the parts just mentioned. The distress 
of the Brachymyrmex was now very apparent. It would 
undergo spasmodic shudderings or lift its body as high as 
possible with the legs stiff and straight beneath. As a rule 
it lost the power of muscular coordination a short time after- 
ward and the attack would end with the Brachymyrmex 
lying on the floor of the nest with its legs drawn tightly 
beneath it. 
In most cases the Strumigenys would later carry out the 
corpses of their victims and deposit them on the “kitchen 
midden”, in this case one of the food chambers of the nest. 
I was thus enabled to relax the remains of the Brachy- 
myrmex workers and study the extent and character of the 
injuries. As might have been expected these were remark- 
ably uniform. The antennal funiculi suffered the most. One 
or both usually showed injuries involving the loss of several 
joints. Not infrequently the entire funiculus, except the 
basal joint, was missing. The fore and middle tarsi, while 
less frequently damaged than the funiculi, were often in- 
jured. The hind tarsi were usually intact. In one specimen 
the tip of the gaster was torn but this injury was so slight 
that I would probably not have noticed it had it not been for 
the actions of the ant while it was still alive. This was the 
sole injury involving the body of the victim. Although I 
made a most careful search for evidences of piercing on 
various parts of the body I never found the slightest indi- 
cation that the teeth of the attackers had penetrated the 
integument of the Brachymyrmex. As it would be hard to 
find an ant in which the integument is softer or thinner than 
that of Brachymyrmex the lack of body wounds can scarcely 
be attributed to the inability of the Strumigenys to pierce 
the chitin. On the contrary it seems obvious that they make 
little effort to do so preferring rather to cripple the victim 
by removing the joints of the appendages. While this view 
