1988] 
Wheeler & Wheeler — Ants of Montana 
113 
have been taken in Montana are the five species in the sanguinea 
species-group. The reported slaves were F. fusca and F. lasioides. 
harvesting ants. These ants collect seeds when they are 
abundant and store them in the nest to be consumed in times of 
scarcity. Montana harvesting species are Pogonomyrmex occidenta- 
ls, P. owyheei and Veromessor lobognathus. The last named species 
is — for us — the most interesting Montana ant. During the ten years 
preceding 1965 we traveled 50,000 miles to observe and collect ants 
in all the continental states (except Alaska) and provinces (except 
Saskatchewan) north of Mexico and west of the 100th meridian and 
did general collecting in all biomes. We were, however, especially 
alert for V. lobognathus ever since we had discovered it in North 
Dakota in 1955 (Wheeler and Wheeler 1956). “We suspected that if 
this species occurred in southwestern North Dakota and on the 
western border of South Dakota, it might also be found in south- 
eastern Montana. Consequently our first stop was at Ekalaka, 
where we called upon Mr. Marshall Lambert, Director of the Carter 
County Museum. As a paleontologist Mr. Lambert is thoroughly 
acquainted with the region. We described the desired habitat. He 
showed us on our contour map where to go and how to get there. 
Within 15 minutes after we arrived at the place he had recom- 
mended, we found a nest of V. lobognathus (Wheeler and Wheeler 
1967.) As in the Dakotas this nest was on a treeless south-facing 
slope where much of the surface was bare. The slopes were always 
near junipers which were on the north-facing slope. This species is a 
characteristic inhabitant of the Pinyon-Juniper Biome. 
Literature Cited 
Borchert, H. F., and N. L. Anderson. 1973. The ants of the Bearpaw Moun- 
tains of Montana. J. Kansas Ent. Soc. 46: 200-224. 
Cole, A. C. 1932. The relation of the ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis Cr., to its 
habitat. Ohio J. Sci. 32: 133-146. 
Creighton, W. S. 1935. Two new species of Formica from western United 
States. Amer. Mus. Novitates No. 773, 8 p. 
Creighton, W. S. 1940. A revision of the North American variants of the ant 
Formica rufa. Amer. Mus. Novitates No. 1055, 10 p. 
Halverson, D. D., Jeanette Wheeler and G. C. Wheeler. 1976. Natural his- 
tory of the sandhill ant. J. Kansas Ent. Soc. 49: 280-303. 
Smith, D. R. 1979. Superfamily Formicoidea. p. 1323-1467 (in Catalog of 
Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Vol. 2.) Smithsonian Inst. Press, 
Washington, D. C. 
