1974 ] 
Haskins csf Haskins — Myrmecia vindex 
263 
it was returned to the nest once more, only to be finally removed 
by 2:33 p.m. and dropped about 32" from the nest entrance. At 
this time the 3 cocoons treated with oleic acid, the 3 treated with 
methylbenzylamine, and the remaining 2 treated with caproic acid 
were still in place on the cardboards, and a few grains of earth 
had been deposited about each. They were permanently ignored. 
Reactions of workers of Myrmecia vindex to 
Triethanolamine: n- Valeric acid; Oleic acid 
The same experimental arrangement was set up, using another 
colony of M. vindex , taken from the same population in Kings Park, 
Perth, West Australia, on January 10, 1965. Cocoons were treated 
as before: 
Triethanolamine (3 drops) 3 cocoons 
n-Valeric acid (3 drops) 3 cocoons 
Oleic acid (3 drops) 3 cocoons 
3 cocoons were retained as controls. 
The 12 cocoons were arranged radially about the nest entrance, 
the control and the oleic acid groups furthest from it. Exposure 
was begun at 2 :47 p.m. 
Triethanolamine proved a powerful attractant, and the cocoons 
treated with it aroused immediate and intense attention. Within 
3 minutes, 1 was dragged into the nest. At 2:51 a second trietha- 
nolamine-treated cocoon was dragged to the nest enerance and 
dropped. At 2 :52 the third was carried to the oleic-acid-treated 
group outside the nest and dropped there. Two control cocoons 
were carried into the nest at the same time. A spot of triethanolamine 
stain on the containing card was repeatedly examined by workers. 
The second triethanolamine-treated cocoon, which was deposited 
initially near the nest entrance, at 2 :56 p.m. was carried to a midden 
45. 5" away; it was then picked up almost immediately and re- 
deposited at a distance of 40". At 3 :02 the triethanolamine-treated 
cocoon which had first been brought into the nest was taken out, 
carried to a point about 9" away, and dropped. Earth grains had 
been deposited about the n-valeric acid group. The 3 oleic-acid- 
treated cocoons had not been moved nor buried. By 4:00 p.m. all 
three triethanolamine-treated cocoons had been discarded in a group 
39" from the nest entrance; 1 control cocoon was still in place; 
and all 6 cocoons treated with n-valeric and oleic acid remained in 
their initial position. At 4:50 p.m. there had been no further change 
and the run was terminated. 
