Article beginning on page 370.
Psyche 7:370-371, 1894.

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370 ps TC77E. [April 1895.
61. Rather slender bodied ; outer edge of upper valves of ovipositorwith a single or no denticulation at the base of the scoop ; hind tibiae normally glaucous but sometimes red - minor.
e2. Rather stout bodied ; outer edge of upper valves of ovipositor crenu- lato-clenticulate on the basal half of the scoop; hind tibiae coral red. coZZinm.
b2. Lower valves of ovipositor straight, with feeblest siqns of a median tooth ; interspace between mesosternal lobes strongly transverse ; prosternal spine short, not nearly reaching the level of the mesosternuni . fztncfuZatus. Two of our species, M. extre~nus M. exhemus, and seem to be confined and M. fmciatws, arc distinctly and
almost or quite exclusively to very high strikingly dimorphic, occasionally oc- elevations. The long-winged form of curring with tegmina surpassing the M. fasciatus has been seen by me hind femora. These long-winged forms only from Michigan, but should be are known in New England only in
looked for in northern New England.
ON COLEOPTERA FOUND WITH ANTS. THIRD PAPER. BY H. V. WICKHAM. IOWA CITY, IOWA.
To the earlier contributions of mine
on this subject, published in some of
the preceding numbers of Psyche, 1
wish to add the following observations,
made at Iowa City during the years
1894 and 1895. A numbeiaof the records
are new, both as regards host and local- ity, while a few are inserted simply as
information tonchirig upon dates or as
furnishing additional proof regarding
the true status of certain species. I
have adopted the plan of taking up
each species of ant separately and enum- erating its guests; as in this way it
would seem easier for the reader to form an idea of what is likely to be found in a given neht. For identification of all
the hosts I sun under obligations to Mr. Theo. Perpride, while most of the
Psclaphidae and Staphylinidae were
named by Captain Casey, who, as we
all know, has for years made careful
studies among them. Several unde-
scribed Aleochasini and some Scyd-
maenidae are also in my collections
from ants' nests, but these are not in-
cluded in the present paper.
I. Formica suhsericea Say. A
strong; colony of this species, having its nest in a little rocky mound, was ex-
amined on April 14 and the following
beetles obtained : Ptomajhagus -para-
situs Lee., eight specimens, chiefly at
a distance of several inches from the
surface. They are lively little fellows
and run about actively in their efforts




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April ~8~6.1 F's 2'
to escape.
Mr. Blanchan1 writes that
these are true parasitits and not either of the new species which have been con-
founded with it in some collcctiom.
Batrims scabriceps Lcc., one speci-
men, from near the top of the nest.
Oxytehis suspectus Casey, one speci-
men at about the same depth as the
Batrisus. The exact status of this
Oxytelus in relation to the ants is rather in doubt - but it seems quite likely
that it may find the neighl~orhood of
colonies agreeable in some way, since I
get nearly all my specimens from the
nests of Formica subsericecit The
colony above mentioned yielded, in
addition to the things already enum-
erated, three specimens of IIetae~iits
brunni/enn/s Rand. ; these differ from
inany other myrmecophiles in the habit
they have of feigning ~1eatli at the
earliest alami, but they soon recover
and make off at a good rate. They are
to be found nearly throughout the nest.
Another colony of JF. subsericea, ex-
;>mined about a month later, furnished
a single specimen of Batrisifs scabri-
ceps.
11. Formica fusco-gagates Forel.
Specimens of Oxytelus sus-pectns were
taken from a nest of this ant.
TII. Formica oliscurtfes Forel.
A colony of this species has constructed a large nest in the vicinity, covered by a hillock of rubbish, chiefly small bits of vegetable matter. The first explora-
tion of this nest was made on April 14,
1894, at which time a considerable
number of the Staphylinid beetle, Platy- medon laticolle Casey, were obtained.
It is an active insect and on being ex-
posed by the removal of shelter, immedi- ately burrows again in the loose bits of rubbish of which the ant-hill is com-
posed. No hostility was seen to lie
manifested towards it by the numerous
ants. In the following year another
visit was made to the same nest, with
the result of finding, on April 26, about twenty-five more of the Platyniedon,
though by May 19 it had become rather
scarce- possibly because so many had
been taken on the previous visit. The
eastward extension of the range or this
beef.1~ is of interest, the previous records having coine from Arizona, Colorado
and Nebraska. The ant with which it
lives must be highly desirable company,
if we may judge from the number
of other guests taken on April 26-
two specin?ens of a small undescribed
Aleocharinid, three Tachyporus, three
Limulodes paradoxus Matth., one
Anomala bimdaiii. Gyll. (this deep
down in the nest), three Monotoma
fitlvipes Melsh., and two Anthicz~s
melancholicus Laf.
IV. Camponotus 'pict-i.cs Forel. It
is well known that this ant is the host
of Lomcchsa cam Lec., iind it seems
that the beetle may be found with it
throiigh most of the warmer months of
the year. I have myself taken it at
Iowa City as early as April and ~s late
as September. This past snm~ncr I
took three in a nest on August I I, and
have some records from Mr. A. B.
Wolcott showing it to occur in Illinois
March 18, and July 9, 12, and 26. It
may perhaps be double brooded.




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PSYCHE.
V. Lasius @Micola var. (?) strong colony of this ant was investi- Mr. Pergande expresses a doubt as to gated on August 4. The nest was thc specific identification of this ant. made on the lower surface of a prostrate The nest was found in an old log, April
log, between the bark and the wood.
13, and one specimen of Batrims The guests were numerous Lidodes foveicornis Casey occurred as a guest. -paradoxusand foiir Thiasofhila lati- VI. Ap/iaenog'aster fdva Rog. A collis Casey. INSECT-VISION.
It has always been assumed that flowers
attracted insects, in large measure at least, by the splendor of their inflorescence. Some recent experiments by Plateau, recorded in the Bulletin of the Belgian Academy, throw doubt upon this assumption. In a consider- able bed of showy dahlias, Plateau concealed from sight the highly colored rays of some of the flowers exposing only the disk, and in a second series of experiments the disk also but independently, either by means of colored papers or by green leaves secured in place by pins. Butterflies and bees sought these flowers with the same avidity and apparently the same frequency as the fully exposed
flowers in the same patch, the bees particu- larly pushing their way beneath the obstacles to reach them, though not always with siic- cess. Plateau concludes that they are guided far more by their perception of odors than by their vision of bright and contrasted colors. In a second communication to the same
Academy, Plateau gives the details of an- other set ofexperiments to determine whether a wide-meshed net presents any obstacle to the passive of a flying insect which, as far as room was concerned, could easily pass in flight through the interstices. He finds that while such net& do not absolutely prevent passage on the wing, insects almost invaria- bly act before one they wish to pass as if they could not distinguish the sipei-ture, ending by alighting on the mesh and
crawling through. He reasons that through the lack of distinct and sharp vision the threads of the net produce the illusion of a continuous surface, as for us the hatchures of an engraving, seen at a distance.
--
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