60
Scientific Memoirs by
Indian Museum collection. The observations in this paper refer to H. scabriceps
and H. criniceps indifferently, as their habits and methods of working are, so
far as I can see, identical. During 1889 and the early months of 1890 I observed
several nests of both species either near the town of Puri or in the district ; in-
deed, both kinds are rather common, frequenting " bunds," the banks of roads, the
borders of fields and open grassy spots. I have lately (March 17th, 1890) found
two nests of H. scabriceps on the Calcutta maidan. The nest, which is always
in the ground, has no dome or " hill " over it, and generally only one opening in
the centre of the crateriform midden. The main entrance leads into a passage
from which numerous other passages branch horizontally and obliquely in all
directions leading to the chambers in which the ants live and to the granaries. The
passages are very narrow and the chambers often at a considerable distance from
the main entrance to the nest, and this, as I shall have occasion to mention fur-
ther on, makes it difficult to find the stores of grain. In some cases there may
be a second or even three openings to the nest, and if the main entrance is dis-
turbed or blocked up, another door will be formed close by. It takes a great deal
of disturbance to make these ants forsake their nest.
The active members of the community consist of an elephant-headed soldier,
a worker major, and a worker minor. On dry days all through the cold weather
the ants may be seen harvesting for the greater part of the day. Sometimes,
however, they are seen in the morning or in the evening, and again on certain
days hardly any ants go out harvesting, and only a few ♀ a r e s e e n b r i n g i n g c h a f f
out of the nest, I think it probable that on such occasions all the members of
the community may be helping to clean and store seeds already harvested. The
ants, when starting off to work, leave their nest in a long regular train, two or
three deep ; the 4 , few in number, running alongside the column and often run-
ning backwards and forwards. They first attack the grasses and plants in the
immediate vicinity of the nest, but when this supply is scanty or exhausted, they
range further afield. I measured (17th January 1890) a train of ants over fifteen
yards long moving along a well-worn path and reaching from the nest into a
small garden, near the forest bungalow in Khurda, where the workers were collect-
ing grass seeds. When the harvesting ground is reached the line breaks up ;
the ♀ c l i m b u p t h e g r a s s s t a l k s a n d w i t h t h e i r s h a r p - t o o t h e d m a n d i b l e s s a w a t
the base of the seed, cutting it off with all its envelopes. Having cut away a seed
or small spikelet, the ant either brings it down and returns to the nest, or drops
it for other workers to carry away. The cutting of the crops is generally, though
not always, done by the ♀ major, while small ♀ collect seeds which have fallen
to the ground and act generally as gleaners. I have never seen the large-headed
4 cutting off seeds, though they sometimes carry them. Their mandibular teeth
differ from those of the large and small ♀ and are broad and blunt.
The seeds, of whatever kind, are always carried into the nest with their
envelopes and are cleaned inside the nest ; the chaff is carefully thrown out on the