Prof. 0. Hecr on the House Ant of Madeira. 327 



of their length with the marginal vein ; the v. externo-media di- 

 vides very soon into two forks, the outer of which is connected 

 by a little cross veinlet with the scapulary vein, and then pro- 

 ceeds towards the tip of the wing. The v, interno-media is ex- 

 tremely short, and opens into the ewterno-media. 



The abdomen consists of six segments, the first two of which 

 form a proportionably long pedicle. Of this the first segment 

 is strongly curved like a horn, and clavate. At the point of its 

 insertion into the thorax it is quite thin, but is thickened up- 

 wards. This thin pedicle is the cause of the great mobility of 

 the abdomen : when raised perpendicularly up, it shuts on so 

 close to the metathorax (cf. fig. i. 2), that from above only its 

 nearly quadrangular head [i, e, the upper end) is visible ; but 

 when lowered, its head separates from the metathorax in pro- 

 portion to the obliquity of its position (cf. fig. i. 3). When the 

 pedicle is raised, the abdomen is lifted up aloft ; in the other 

 case it is depressed. The second joint of the node* (the second 

 abdominal segment) is much broader, but much shorter, inserted 

 obliquely into the first, and, seen from above, coroniform. On 

 either side it is furnished with a small tuft of hairs. The body 

 of the abdomen consists of four segments, and is shortly oval, 

 somewhat broader than the head, bluntly rounded before and 

 behind. The first segment, or third of the whole abdomen, is 

 the largest; it is of the same length as the three following 

 together. It is even ; only furnished on the back with a faint 

 longitudinal line, and on the hinder edge with a row of punctures 

 and a circlet of hairs ; the upper side is pretty thickly clothed 

 with fine short pubescence. The second segment is decidedly 

 shorter, quite smooth and naked, with only a narrow hairy band 

 on the hinder edge, and the edge itself ciliated with longer 

 hairs. The third and still shorter segment presents the same 

 characters ; the fourth only projects a very little. 



The colour of the insect is a shining brown. The head is 

 chestnut-brown ; the fore part lighter, yellow-brown ; the edge 

 of the scutum and the fore-edge of the mandibles black. The 

 eyes black, the ocelli whitish. The mesonotum is of the same 

 colour as the head; the metanotum, on the contrary, lighter 

 yellow- brown ; the tibiae and femora are brown, the tarsi and 

 antennae light yellow. The abdomen is shining ; lighter in front, 

 behind blackish-brown : the commencement of the first segment, 

 and sometimes the (whole) first segment and fore-part of the 

 second of the body of the abdomen are yellow-brown; the 

 hinder segment, on the other hand, is dark brown or blackish ; 

 but the small last (segment) again lighter yellow-brown.. In 

 certain individuals, moreover, the whole body is a lighter brown 



* Knotchen — here evidently means pedicle. — Tr. 



