262 
Psyche 
[June 
At 5:10 p.ni., 2 Tenebrionid larvae, 1 treated with oleic acid 
and the other untreated, were placed outside the nest entrance. At 
5:13 p.m. the untreated larva was carried into the nest, and 1 minute 
later the treated larva also was seized and carried in. At 5 130 p.m., 
however, the treated larva was brought out, carried to a distance of 
34", and discarded. The untreated larva was retained within the 
nest and shortly consumed. 
These trials gave strong evidence that patterns both of burying and 
of rejection of objects impregnated with oleic acid are exhibited by 
M. vindex. It then seemed of interest to compare the reactions to 
oleic acid with those of other substances tested by Wilson et al. in 
their work with P. badius. 
Reactions of workers of Myrniecia vindex to Methyl 
benzylamine; Caproic acid; Oleic acid; Formic acid 
Using the same colony and with the same experimental arrange- 
ments as above, 14 cocoons, ranging from freshly spun to nearly 
ready to eclose, were impregnated as follows: 
Methylbenzylamine (3 drops) 
Caproic acid (3 drops) 
Oleic acid (3 drops) 
Formic acid 
2 cocoons were retained as controls. 
All these cocoons were placed on cardboards, and mounted on 
top of the Lubbock nest as before, at 2:04 p.m. 
At 2:19 p.m. the 2 controls and the 3 cocoons treated with 
formic acid had been permanently returned to the nest. At 5 140 
p.m., 1 cocoon from the caproic acid group had been removed 40.5" 
from the nest and deposited on a refuse midden. All other cocoons 
remained untouched. 
At 8:45 a.m. on March 31, no further cocoons had been removed 
from the cardboards, but a few grains of earth had been deposited 
on the cardboards of the caproic- and oleic-acid treated objects. 
During the night the caproic-treated cocoon deposited on the refuse 
midden had been retrieved into the nest, but at 8 155 a.m. it was 
again brought out and carried to the midden, 44" from the nest 
entrance. Almost immediaeely it was again retrieved and returned 
to the nest. At 9:10 a.m., it was once more removed and dropped 
about 9" from the nest entrance. By 2 103 p.m. this cocoon had 
been carried to a midden 36" from the entrance, but 1 minute later 
3 cocoons 
3 cocoons 
3 cocoons 
3 cocoons 
