wheeler: the ants of cuba. 491 



34. Pheidole cubaensis Mayr. 

 Verh. Zool. bot. gesellsch. Wien, 1862, 12, p. 747 % U . 



Mayr described this species from specimens taken in Cuba by 

 Riehl. Gundlach states that he found specimens in the environs of 

 Cardenas. His collection contains a soldier and worker marked no. 

 56. I found a few colonies under stones in rather moist soil in the 

 Cienaga de Zapata on the finca of Sr. Perez about sixteen miles from 

 Bolondron. The upper chambers of the nests contained numerous 

 stored seeds, so that the species is evidently a harvester. All the 

 soldiers taken had the head dark brown, whereas the Gundlach 

 specimen has the head red and conforms with Mayr's description. A 

 single soldier taken by Mr. E. A. Schwarz at Cayamas agrees with 

 those I have taken, so that these may represent a distinct variety, but 

 without fresh specimens from Cardenas and other parts of Cuba, I 

 hesitate to establish a new name in a genus which is already embarrass- 

 ingly complex. 



35. Pheidole androsana Wheeler subsp. bakeri Forel. 



Ph. bakeri Forel, Ent. mitth., 1912, 1, p. 82 01 8 . 



This form was described by Forel from a single soldier and worker 

 taken by Prof. C. F. Baker at Havana. I possess four soldiers and 

 ten workers taken by the same collector in the same locality and in all 

 probability belonging to the same lot as the specimens described by 

 Forel. On comparing them with the types of Ph. androsana from 

 Andros Island, Bahamas, I am unable to see that they represent any- 

 thing more than a well-defined subspecies of this form. The soldier 

 of bakeri differs from that of androsana in the following characters: — - 

 the body is smaller (4.5-5 mm.), the posterior half of the head is 

 smooth and shining, with very sparse, minute, piligerous punctures; 

 the thorax, petiole, and postpetiole are much less heavily sculptured 

 and more shining, as is also the gaster. The epinotal spines are 

 stouter, the teeth on the gula larger and the lateral conules of the 

 postpetiole somewhat longer. The color is paler, the body being 

 reddish yellow, a little darker than the appendages, with the tip of 

 the gaster infuscated. The worker measures 2-2.5 mm. and differs 

 from the worker of androsana in having the body smoother and more 

 shining, especially the upper surface of the head and the pronotum. 



