1979 ] Haskins <£ Haskins — Rhytidoponera metalliea 
307 
wild population taken in the same location more than four years 
later, which must have existed under significantly divergent enviro¬ 
nmental conditions, these three populations remained wholly com¬ 
patible. 
(b2) Sutherland-Sutherland 
A similar series of four tests was made on January 17, 1973 
between colonies collected in the same marked area within the 
Sutherland arena, respectively on January 12, 1968 (maintained 
thereafter in isolation) and January 3, 1973. 
Test #1—Initial “startle”, followed by entire compatibility (C/D) 
Test #2—Initial “startle”, followed by entire compatibility (C/D) 
Test #3—Initial “startle”, followed by entire compatibility (C/D) 
Test #4—Initial “startle”, followed by entire compatibility (C/D) 
(b3) ‘‘Blind” Tests between Individuals of Colonies from Suther¬ 
land and from Queensland in the Nambour-Montville-Paramount 
Point Triangle 
These tests involved colonies collected in the Queensland area on 
December 23, 24, and 26, 1963, and a single colony collected in the 
Sutherland area on January 12, 1968. All had been housed since 
capture in earth-containing Lubbock nests in five-gallon aquaria 
with screened tops, as previously described, within a month of the 
time of collection. All had reared broods continuously over the 
nearly nine years that the Queensland collections were held before 
these tests, and the nearly five years for the Sutherland collection. 
During this time there had been numerous broods of males matured, 
and extensive male flights occurred within each arena, with pre¬ 
sumed periodic re-fertilization of the successive broods of laying 
females. It is virtually certain that none of the workers tested from 
the Queensland collections were in existence when those collections 
were made, and extremely probable that the same was true for the 
Sutherland population. 
For purpose of the tests, the locality label on each of the nests was 
obscured and replaced by an arbitrary designation, A1-A7 for the 
Queensland colonies, B1 for that from Sutherland. 
A series of tests were run among the Queensland colonies and 
between them and the Sutherland colony, in all possible combina¬ 
tions, on October 23, 1972. As a result, three compatibility groups 
could be distinguished. 
