94 
Psyche 
[September 
coastal plain while albisetosus rarely gets within fifty 
miles of it. The range of cockerelli follows the inner border 
of the Sonoran coastal plain as far as Quitobaquito, where 
it turns north through the Growler Mountains in Arizona 
and thence to the Gila Bend Mountains. As far as the 
writer could determine the insect is not present in the 
Gran Desierto in northwestern Sonora, nor in the moun- 
tains immediately north of it in western Arizona. Records 
for both species from stations northwest of the Gila Bend 
Mountains are scarce. The range of albisetosus appears 
to terminate near Wickenberg, that of cockerelli procedes 
into southern Nevada. 
The presence of cockerelli in southern Nevada leads to 
the vexing question as to whether or not this insect occurs 
in California. In the writer’s opinion there is no proof 
at present that cockerelli occurs west of Nevada. To date 
all California records for cockerelli are demonstrably in- 
correct 2 or suspect. In 1934 Cole (3) published the state- 
ment that cockerelli is “rather common” near Barstow, 
Ludlow and Tehachapi. The first two stations are on the 
Mojave Desert, the last one is at the southern end of the 
San Joaquin Valley. Although the writer doubted the 
Tehachapi record from the start, there seemed little reason 
to question the Barstow and Ludlow records until the 
spring of 1951. In April of that year a series of excep- 
tionally favorable climatic conditions resulted in a magnif- 
icent display of ephemeral flowers on the Mojave Desert. 
This extraordinary burst of bloom (said to have been 
the best in a period of twenty years) was accompanied 
by a corresponding burst of foraging activity on the part 
of the ants in that area. At this time the writer was 
2 In his recent book on California ants T. W. Cook states (p. 115) 
that he took a colony of N. cockerelli on the Mills College campus at 
Oakland. The explanation for this record is quite simple; what Cook 
had was a colony of V eromessor andrei. There can be no doubt of this, 
for the three illustrations of the worker that Cook presented as that 
of “Novomessor cockerelli” are drawn from a small worker of V eromessor 
andrei. It is unpleasant to have to add that most of Cook’s misguided 
efforts with the California ants are little better than his fumbling treat- 
ment of cockerelli. 
