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Psyche 
[December 
nests containing colonies of the non-ecitonine species Mono- 
morium minimum (Buckley), Crematogaster minutissima 
Mayr, and Camponotus pennsylvanicus (DeGeer), they 
completely ignored these ants and wandered aimlessly 
about the nest chambers. 
The Paralimulodes present a very bizarre appearance 
in life. When resting they superficially resemble mites. 
They are usually to be seen riding on the heads and ab- 
domens of the workers and only rarely run along the 
ground in a foraging column of the ants. On several oc- 
casions two were observed riding on the same worker and 
in this circumstance were positioned symmetrically on 
each side of the head or abdomen, a phenomenon already 
noted in some myrmecophilous mites (Wheeler, 1926) and 
in Limulodes (Park, 1933). 
When the ants are moving in columns the beetles re- 
main more or less stationary on single individuals. Only 
when the ants crowd together to rest do the beetles show 
much activity of their own. Then they begin to travel 
over the bodies of their hosts in light, rapid, jerky move- 
ments, climbing appendages, scurrying around curved body 
surfaces, and skipping freely from one individual to an- 
other. The ants do not seem to be bothered by this activity 
at all, and in fact show no sign that they are aware of 
their tiny guests’ existence. Once a beetle was seen to cross 
the extended antennae of two workers which had met 
and were palpating one another, and even this imperti- 
nence failed to evoke a response. 
Like Limulodes parki (see Park, 1933), Paralimulodes 
is a strigilator, obtaining its food by scraping organic 
matter from the cuticle of its hosts. On several occasions 
individuals were seen moving their mouthparts along the 
anterior gular rim and coxal insertions of resting workers. 
No ant brood was present in the nests at the time of ob- 
servation, so that it could not be determined whether the 
beetles confine their attention to the adults. 
Acknowledgement, The authors are indebted to Dr. H. 
S. Dybas for examining part of the Lawrence County 
series and making certain valuable corrections and sug- 
gestions relative to the foregoing section on morphology. 
