1988] Lenoir, Querard, Pondieq, & Bert on — Cataglyphis 23 
N 
Fig. 1. Frequency of number of workers per colony, including data from 
Cagniant 1980 (34 workers), and from Cagniant 1983 (1106 workers) N: Number of 
colonies NW: Number of Workers. 
workers; C. albicans has 700 (Schmid-Hempel 1987). Figure 1 
shows that small colonies are not frequent. Isolated females were 
not found at any time of the year. Cagniant (1980) found only one 
small colony with 34 workers, but never isolated queens. In ant 
species which form new colonies with a solitary female (haplometro- 
sis) it is common to find an isolated queen, or a queen surrounded 
by a few workers (Wilson 1971). This fact suggests that haplometro- 
sis is unusual or absent in C. cursor. 
3. Behavior of sexuals and mating 
The mating period occurs from mid-June until the end of July, 
depending on the year and the climate. In the Pyrenees-Orientales 
flight season is finished at the end of June; in the Luberon (Vau- 
cluse) at 500 m it ends one month later. These data are in agreement 
with the observations of Bernard (1968) and Cagniant (1976b). In 
Barcelona sexuals appear at the end of May and leave the nest in 
June (Retana 1986). The exit of sexuals occurs between 9 h and 14 h 
