102 
Psyche 
[June 
A CAMPONOTUS MERMITHERGATE FROM 
ARGENTINA 
By William Morton Wheeler 
In a recent paper 1 I called attention to the different ef- 
fects produced by Mermis parasitism in female ants belong- 
ing to different castes and natural subfamilies. When the 
queens of Lasius species (subfam. Formicinse) are infected 
and converted into mermithogynes, the observable effects are 
a slight diminution in the size of the head and thorax and 
a pronounced diminution in the size of the wings. In various 
genera of Ponerinse (Euponera, Pachycondyla, Odontoma- 
chus) the mermithized workers, or mermithergates, have 
the head narrowed, small ocelli may be developed and some 
of the other parts of the body may come to resemble those 
of the queen. In the genus Pheidole (subfam. Myrmicinse), 
which has three distinct female castes — queen, soldier and 
worker — the infected individuals usually present a peculiar 
blending of the characters of all three phases. The only re- 
corded example of a mermithized worker Formicine ant is 
a specimen of the large Camponotus (Tansemyrmex) pom- 
pejus Emery subsp. cassius Wheeler, which I described 
from the Belgian Congo. This specimen was unmodified and, 
apart from the swollen gaster containing the coiled Mermis, 
had all the characters of a normal worker minor. 
While studying the large collection of ants made by Prof. 
J. C. Bradley during 1919-20 in South America, I have found 
another mermithized worker Formicine, which is more in- 
teresting than the Congolese specimen. This is a specimen of 
Camponotus (Tansemyrmex) punctualatus Mayr. subsp. 
minutior Forel, a common ant in the Argentine and repre- 
sented in Professor Bradley’s collection by several series of 
major and minor workers taken at Laguna Paiva, Posadas, 
La Quiaca, San Juancito and Coquin. The mermithergate 
was taken in the locality last mentioned, which is in the 
iMermis Parasitism and Intercastes among Ants. Journ. Exper. Zool. 50, 
1928 pp. 165-237, 17 figs. 
