108 
Psyche 
[December 
Colony A was given a superabundance of food comprising 
egg yolk, sugar syrup, and grasshopper legs. Colony B was 
given the same kind of food, but just enough to allow the 
larvae to grow. The precise amount of food to give to B was 
difficult to determine since too much would obviously defeat 
the plan of the experiment, while too little might cause the 
workers to devour some of their larvae. As soon as each 
larva had pupated, it was removed and identified. 
Results. 
The results obtained from each group of larvae are tabu- 
lated below: 
Larvae initially present 
Larvae died during experiment 
Larvae surviving to maturity 
males 
females 
queens 
workers 
A 
B 
44 
44 
6 
9 
38 
35 
3 
2 
35 
33 
32 
10 
3 
23 
In colony A, 94% of the total surviving female brood com- 
prised queens, as compared with 30% in B. If it then be 
assumed that the six larvae which died in colony A would 
have been workers, while the nine larvae which died in 
colony B would have been queens and were preferentially 
destroyed by the workers, then 78% of a total female brood 
of 41 in A would have been queens as compared with a 
corresponding figure of 45% in B. Such a possibility of 
preferential destruction must be considered even though 
highly unlikely. Colony A, especially, had more than ample 
food and therefore no reason to destroy any larvae. It would 
seem probable that the dead larvae represent enfeebled or 
injured individuals, approximately equally divided between 
the two colonies, which would have been disposed of under 
any circumstances. 
The difference between the figures 78% and 45% could 
conceivably be explained on the basis of chance assortment, 
but this is highly unlikely. If we assume on the basis of the 
blastogenic theory that of the original 88 larvae 83 are fe- 
