1968] 
Talbot — Flights of Polyergus 
51 
would try to bite any female encountered. On two different occa- 
sions one such female was seen to follow a raiding party to a F. p . 
nitidiventris nest, keeping just outside the column of ants. The first 
female was lost from view as she circled around the mass of ants 
entering the raided nest. The second, which had hung around the 
column edge, being bitten every time she got into a group, followed 
the raiding party for 43 minutes to a colony 213 feet away. At the 
raided nest she succeeded in getting down into the entrance three 
times but was pulled out each time by emerging Polyergus workers. 
It is not known if she finally got into the nest, but she did not return 
with the raiding ants. 
This seems to be an excellent method of finding a colony to invade. 
The raiding ants not only lead a female directly to a colony but 
present her with one which is demoralized, depleted of brood, and 
probably saturated with Polyergus odor. 
One incipient Polyergus colony was found on the Reserve. It con- 
sisted of a queen with a few pupae living in a small F. p. nitidiven- 
tris colony. 
Contrasts in flights of polyergus lucidus and aphaenogaster 
treatae. Different species of ants show great variation in their 
flights — in time of year, time of day, and reaction to temperature, 
light, and wind. A comparison of Polyergus lucidus with Aphaeno- 
gaster treatae Forel is especially interesting because both live in open 
fields, and both have flights near midday when normally their workers 
are not above ground. 
Polyergus alates flew in early afternoon, at high temperatures 
(97°-78°F), in bright light (10,000-4,000 ft-c), while their workers 
raided later in the day (3:06-8:14 PM), at lower temperatures 
(9i°-65°F) and less intense light (6,300-260 ft-c). Aphaenogaster 
treatae flights also occurred near midday and usually on bright days 
when temperatures were too high for workers to forage (above 
88°F). The contrast came from the fact that A. treatae could actual- 
ly not fly under these extreme conditions, but waited until a passing 
cloud modified them briefly. Thus, they had a flight on one day when 
temperature was 91 °F and light 9,200 ft-c but they came out and 
flew only when a brief cloud reduced temperature to 85 °F and light 
to 2,400 ft-c (Talbot 1966). Such a cloud would have stopped a 
Polyergus flight. The two species also reacted differently to wind. 
Winds as low as 2 mph caused A. treatae alates to retreat, while 
much higher winds stimulated Polyergus flying. 
