Prenolepis longicornis, Latr

Forel, A., 1893, Formicides de l'Antille St. Vincent. Récoltées par Mons. H. H. Smith., Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1893, pp. 333-418 : 337-338

1. Prenolepis longicornis, Latr ..

[[ worker ]] [[ queen ]] [[ male ]]. (No. 17).

(17). A common species about houses and open places, not far from sea-level. The formicarium is subterranean and extensive, with passages half an inch in diameter to the open ground above, or under stones. ' The colony contains many hundreds or thousands of individuals. The winged forms and larvae are often exposed by turning over stones, but the ants carry them rapidly to lower parts of the nest, six inches or more below the surface. The workers are very active and bold; when foraging they run jerkily from side to side. They are especially fond of dead animal matter. When working over insects I have often been amused, as well as annoyed, to observe the boldness of these little foragers. If an ant discovers' one of the insects she seizes it at once, and tries to drag it from the table. If I brush her off, she dodges around and behind the precious morsei, and seizes it again. Driven quite away, she runs to some shelter, but returns almost immediately, trying to drag the insect even from my fingers; and nothing short of mutilation or death will effectually stop her. One ant will drag away a load ten times as large and heavy as herself, always walking backwards, and pulling the prize after her. If it is too heavy for her unaided efforts, she runs for other foragers. As soon as she finds a companion she communicates her excitement with a touch of the antennae and both return to drag off the prize. I have seen perhaps a hundred of these ants dragging a dead lizard across the floor; the lizard was about five inches long, and the ants dragged it more than a foot in ten minutes. I never saw these ants stop to feed on a discovered morsel; the first impulse is always to drag it away. They work during the day, and also, it would seem, at night. Apparently they require water, and they may be found in water jars and tumblers drinking. They can also make their way over the surface of still water; so that food placed in a dish which is set in a plate of water is not always protected. I have seen about fifty of these ants dragging a large cockroach about three feet up a perpendicular smooth-plastered wall.

(17 a). Thicket by the seashore near Wallibou (leeward). Oct. 8 th. Large colony under a stone. The males were numerous, ' females less so.

(17 b). Golden Grove House (leeward). Oct. 29 th. 400 ft. above the sea. Apparently there are several colonies above the house. Great numbers of the workers, with larvae, were found under a stone, collected in crevices of the lower surface; tunnels extended below to six inches or more.

(17 c). Near Kingstown. Oct. 17 th. Large formicarium under a stone; open hill-side, 500 ft. above the sea.

(17 d). Seashore thickets near Chateaubelais (leeward). September. Beaten from vines.

(17 e). Windward side. Open land near sea-level at Grand Sable, Jan. 3 rd. From several nests under stones. The species is common on the windward coast.