Biological and Embryological Studies on Formicidae

Abstract

Although the common corn-field ant, Lasius niger var. americanus Emery, is said to be the most abundant of all North American insects, its complete life history has never been worked out. The most that we have on the subject is given in Bulletin 131 of the Illinois Experiment Station by Forbes. He there reports that in four cases the firsteggs from young queens were obtained May 8, 9, 10, and 15; that the egg periods were 16, 17, 19, and 23 days; that the pupal stage averagedabout 18 days; and that the total number of young produced by a single female in the first year was in three cases 8, 9, and 19 workers. The more extensive data which I have been able to obtain correspond in great measure to those just given.