wheeler: ants of the genus formica. 453 



Hairs golden yellow, short, and erect, those on the clypeus and man- 

 dibles rather coarse. Upper surface of head naked, gula with a few 

 erect hairs. Eyes bare. Thorax covered with erect hairs, except the 

 mesonotiun, mesopleurae, and basal epinotal surface, which are naked. 

 Petiole beloAv and along its border with a fringe of short hairs, also with 

 a few hairs on its anterior and posterior surfaces. Gaster invested 

 with numerous uniformly distributed, short, suberect, obtuse hairs, 

 which are not longer on the terminal than on the basal segments. 

 Legs without oblique hairs, except the customary row on the flexor 

 surfaces of the tibiae. Pubescence grayish, rather long and sparse 

 on the head, thorax, and legs, on the gaster very dense and concealing 

 the surface. 



Head, thorax, and petiole of largest workers rich yellowish red, 

 mandibles and clypeal sutures darker. Gaster brown, but appearing 

 gray on account of the dense pubescence, anal segment and often also 

 the venter and the base of the first segment, yellow. Antennae and 

 legs reddish yellow, funiculus towards the tip, coxae, femora, and often 

 also the tibiae, dark brown. The smallest workers usually have the 

 posterior portion of the head, thoracic dorsum, and border of petiole 

 clouded with black or dark brown. In some small specimens the whole 

 body, excepting the mandibles and anterior portion of the head, is 

 uniformly infuscated. 



Female. Length 6-8 mm. 



Thorax rather small, somewhat narrower than the head. Petiole 

 broadly rounded, its superior border sharp, but not produced in the 

 middorsal line as in the worker. 



Mandibles subopaque, striatopunctate. Body and appendages 

 smooth and shining, especially the head, mesonotum, and scutellum, 

 which are very glabrous. 



Pilosity extraordinary, consisting of very long, golden yellow hairs, 

 which have a tendency to curl at their ends. These hairs are absent 

 on the upper surface of the head, the mesonotum, and legs, excepting 

 the coxae. They are long and conspicuous on the mandibles and 

 clypeus, on the latter scattered over the disc and also fringing the an- 

 terior border. Gula with long, appressed hairs. Remainder of body, 

 excepting the nude portions above mentioned, covered with long woolly 

 hairs which form a prominent fan-like fringe on the border of the petiole. 

 On the gaster they are long and abundant, appressed overlapping and 

 curled at their tips, so that this region of the body appears opaque, 

 in marked contrast to the head and mesonotum. Antennae and lesrs 



 >  ^ 



covered with mmute, inconspicuous pubescence, flexor surfaces of 

 fore femora with flexuous hairs, corresponding surfaces of middle 

 tibiae each with a single row, hind tibiae with two rows of stiff hairs. 

 Color also unusual; rich reddish yellow throughout ; only the termi- 

 nal half of the funiculus, the mesonotum, the adjacent portion of the 



