NOTES ON AUSTRALIAN ANTS. 
Myrmecia ( Protnyrmecia ) picta Sm., Clark, Victorian Naturalist, xliv (2), 
p. 39, 1927, § ? <?. 
Myrmecia (Promyrmecia) urens Lowne : 
Myrmecia wens Lowne, The Entomologist, London, ii, p. 33, 1865, § . 
Myrmecia picta Mayr, Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, xii, p. 94, 1876, 5 . 
Myrmecia (Promyrmecia) pumilio Mayr : 
Myrmecia pumilio Mayr, Verh. Zool. hot. Ges. Wien, p. 896, 1866, §. 
Myrmecia picta Mayr, Jour. Mus. Godeffroy, p. 94, 1876, $ . 
Myrmecia (Promyrmecia) infima Ford : 
Myrmecia picta var. infima Ford, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg. 44, p. 54, 1900, § ; 
Emery, Gen. Insect. Fasc. 1 18, p. 20, 1911, 5. 
Myrmecia ( Promyrmecia ) infima Ford, Wheeler, Colony Founding Among 
Ants, p. 62, 1933. 
Myrmecia picta var. nigra Ford, Fauna Sudwest. Aust. i, p. 267, 1907, 'i ; 
Emery, Gen. Ins. 1 18, p. 20, 1911, §. 
The nest is constructed in the ground ; it is insignificant, 
and easily overlooked unless the ants are seen to enter or leave, 
there being no mound. Access to the nest is gained by one 
small vertical shaft or by several scattered over the area ; the 
entrances rarely exceed a quarter of an inch in diameter. They 
extend downward for about eighteen inches, the usual depth of 
the nest. 1 he soil excavated is carried some distance and 
scattered, never piled up round the entrance as is usual with 
most species in the genus. The excavations are not large, 
consisting only of a few r small pockets. The first of these occur 
just under the surface, others at greater depths. Larvae and 
pupae can be found generally in the top pockets. At the first 
alarm they are seized by the workers and carried below to the 
bottom chamber, and it is, therefore, not possible to state the 
normal distribution of these in the nest. An interesting feature 
is that several, and sometimes ergatoid, females may be found 
in one nest, they can be seen hunting with the workers and 
carrying food. All the females I have taken have been in 
perfect condition, so they must live and work together in peace 
and harmony. It is not usual in this genus, except in a few 
species, to find more than one female in a nest. They can be 
found running up and down the trunks of trees which are in 
blossom. 1 hey sip the nectar, and capture small bees and other 
insects with which they feed the larvae. 
This ant will rarely come out to attack, even when one is 
standing on the nest, but will, however, readily attack when 
it is outside. This feature is rare in the genus ; most of the 
species do not need inviting, and they rush out at the least 
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