1930 ] An Unusual Nest of Pogonomyrmex 63 
2. Pseudogynes may arise without any effort at trans- 
mutation but from female larvae that have been merely 
neglected and left unfed after they have passed the stage 
at which such treatment would lead to the formation of 
workers. “That the pseudogynes are not the result of 
pathogenic conditions in the egg or mother queen has been 
proved experimentally by Viehmeyer (1904) who removed 
an aged sanguinea queen from a colony that for years had 
been producing pseudogynes, owing to the presence of 
Lomechusa larvae and caused her to be adopted by a new 
set of unusually healthy workers from an uninfested colony. 
Under the changed conditions her eggs developed into 
larvae that gave rise to perfectly normal workers” (Wheeler, 
1910). It would appear, therefore, that pseudogynes result 
from an upset in the nutritional balance due to the presence 
of parasites, although it is impossible to state positively 
whether they are transmuted females or over-developed 
workers. 
The pterergate falls into the third group of abnormal 
ants, i. e. freaks and atavistic forms. As there are only a 
few cases of such forms on record (nine prior to 1920) their 
sporadic appearance would indicate that they are extremely 
unusual and thus may be classified in the third category. 
Dewitz (1878) has shown that in Formica the embryonic 
vestiges of wings are retained until the larval and pupal 
stages, and it is not surprising, therefore, that we should 
occasionally find some workers which retain them until the 
adult stage. No doubt this phenomenon occurs more often 
than has been suspected, and the minute vestiges are broken 
off during emergence from the pupal case, or during the 
mutual stroking of their bodies with their antennae, to which 
the ants devote so much of their time. Since the retention 
of a character that usually disappears among the normal 
forms is in the broad sense of the term a freak, pterergates 
or workers possessing vestiges of wings, though in other 
characteristics exactly like the true worker, fall readily 
into the third group of abnormal ants suggested by 
Creighton. 
The difference between pseudogynes and workers is very 
distinct when a large series of forms is available for study, 
and many comparisons may be made between them. The 
