48 Mr. T. C. Jerdon on new species of Ants 



thorax very slightly notched; abdominal pedicles narrow, first 

 much raised, second slightly so ; abdomen ovate ; legs longish ; 

 head, thorax and legs deep red-brown ; abdomen blackish. 



This species of Ant does not seem to be common. I have 

 only hitherto procm'ed it at Nellore in a hole in a house, and I 

 only saw one kind of individual. 



-/— 4. Atta rufttj Jerdon (p. 106). 



Worker ^th to ^th of an inch long; head short, oblong; eyes 

 rather small, medial ; antennae rather short, with the two last 

 joints much enlarged ; jaws linear, oblong, strongly toothed ; 

 thorax slightly grooved ; first abdominal pedicle lengthened, 

 narrow in front, wide behind and much raised ; second broader, 

 not so high, of a uniform glossy rufous colour, with the end of 

 the abdomen somewhat dai'ker. 



Warrior variable, about ^th of an inch- long ; head large, very 

 square, slightly notched behind, smooth ; eyes advanced, lateral ; 

 jaws oblong, quite entn-e, blunt ; antennae short, otherwise as in 

 the ordinary worker. Female about g^ths of an inch long; 

 head small, diamond-shaped ; eyes very large, three large ocelli 

 on the top of the head ; antennae not geniculate, short, all the 

 joints nearly equal; thorax thick in front, depressed behind; 

 abdomen long, oval ; wings reach beyond the abdomen. 



This ant is the only one of the true Atta that has two kinds 

 of neuter individuals, and in its form and general habits it ap- 

 proaches much to the next genus, Ocodoma ; but as it wants the 

 spines on the thorax, I have referred it to Atta. It is very com- 

 mon in Malabar, but is also found in the Carnatic ; it is found 

 in holes under ground, about gravel walks, mud walls, and often 

 appears in houses, coming through a crevice in the floor or wall. 

 There is a colony of them in my bathing-room, and every now 

 and then vast numbers of the winged females (and males) issue 

 forth just before sunset, attended as far as the window by swarms 

 of the neuters of both kinds. Its favourite food is dead insects 

 and other matter, but it also carries off seeds like the Ocodoma j 

 as I know to my cost, chaff, &c. It stings very severely, 

 leaving a burning pain that lasts for several minutes. 



4^5. Atta dissimilis, Jerdon (p. 107). 



About -/^th of an inch long; head oblong, rounded; eyes mo- 

 derate ; antennae suddenly thickening at the last joint ; thorax 

 very slightly grooved ; abdominal pedicles narrow above, both 

 equally raised, first rather more conic than the second; abdomen 

 long, oval, colour blackish throughout. I have only found this 

 ant in small numbers on trees in Malabar. 



