1328 Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico 



Nycteresia Roger, 1861. Berlin. Ent. Ztschr. 5: 21. 



Type-species: Formica coeca Latreille. Monotypic. 

 Pseudodicthadia Andre, 1885. Spec. Hym. Eur. Alg. 2: 838. 



Type-species: Pseudodicthadia iyicerta Andre. Monotypic. 



A neotropical genus of 8 species, one of which reaches the United States. 



Revision: Borgmeier, 1955. Studia Ent. 3: 80-134. 



Taxonomy: Wheeler and Wheeler, 1964. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 66: 134 (larvae). 



Biology: Rettenmeyer, 1963. Kans. Univ., Sci. Bui. 44: 403-424 (behavioral studies in Canal 



Zone). 

 coecus (Latreille). S. Ark., La., Okla., Tex. s. to Argentina. Ecology: The large colonies, usually 

 with many thousands of individuals, are found in more or less temporary nests in 

 decayed logs and stumps or in ground beneath objects. They are subterranean and 

 nocturnal. Food consists of other arthropods, small mammals, birds, and nuts. Workers 

 are highly predaceous and are known to feed on injurious insects such as the immature 

 stages of the screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel)) and the secondary 

 screwworm (C. macellaria (F.)). 



Formica omnivora Olivier, 1791. Encycl. Meth. Hist. Nat. 6: 496. $. Preocc. by Linnaeus, 

 1758. 



Formica coeca Latreille, 1802. Hist. Nat. Fourmis, v. 9, p. 270. $ . 



Labidus latreillii J urine, 1807. Nouv. Meth. Class. Hym. Dipt., p. 283. 6. 



Labidus jurini Shuckard, 1840. Ann. Nat. Hist. 5: 198. cJ . 



Labidus servillei Westwood, 1842. Arcana Ent., v. 1, p. 75. 6. 



Mutilla (Labidus) fulvescens Blanchard, 1849. In Cuvier, Regne Animale, ed. 3, v. 2, pi. 

 118, fig. 2. 



Labidus saji (!) Haldeman, 1852. In Stanbury, Exped. Great Salt Lake, p. 367. S. 



Labidus atriceps Smith, 1859. Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus., v. 7, p. 5. 6. 



Labidus pilosus Smith, 1859. Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus., v. 7, p. 7. 6. 



Labidus panzeri Smith, 1859. Cat. Hym. Brit. Mus., v. 7, p. 72. 6 . 



Eciton vastator Smith, 1860. Jour. Ent., London 1: 71. 5. 



Eciton erratica Smith, 1860. Jour. Ent., London 1: 71. 5. 



Myrmica rubra Buckley, 1867. Ent. Soc. Phila., Proc. 6: 335. 5 . Preocc. in Myrmica by 

 Linnaeus, 1758. 



Pseudodicthadia incerta Andre, 1885. Spec. Hym. Eur. Alg. 2: 838. 9 . 



Eciton smithii Dalla Torre, 1892. Cat. Hym., v. 7, p. 6. N. name for L. pilosus Smith. 



Eciton coecum var. biloba Emery, 1901. Soc. Ent. Belg., Ann. 45: 51. S. 



Eciton nigrita Emery, 1901. Soc. Ent. Belg., Ann. 45: 52. S. 



Eciton coecum var. kulowi Forel, 1901. Mitt. Nat. Mus. Hamburg 18: 47. cJ. 



Eciton selysi Forel, 1904. Soc. Ent. Belg., Ann. 48: 169. 5 . 



Eciton grassator Forel, 1911. Deut. Ent. Ztschr., p. 288. 9. 



Eciton (Labidus) coecum servillei var. hostilis Santschi, 1920. Soc. Ent. France, Ann. 88: 

 368. S. 



Eciton (Labidus) coecum var. opcunfrons Wheeler, 1921. Amer. Acad. Arts and Sci., Proc. 

 56:310. 5. 



Eciton (Labidus) coecum var. elsbethae Forel, 1922. Rev. Suisse Zool. 30: 91. 6. 



Eciton (Labidus) serpentis Weber, 1938. Ent. Soc. Amer., Ann. 31: 209. 5. 



Taxonomy: Weber, 1941. Amer. Midland Nat. 26: 238 (queen). —Wheeler, 1943. Ent. Soc. 

 Amer., Ann. 36: 332 Oarva). —Wheeler and Wheeler, 1964. Ent. Soc. Wash., Proc. 66: 135 

 (larva). 



Biology: Wheeler, 1908. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., BuL 24: 408-409. — Lindquist, 1942. Jour. 

 Econ. Ent. 35: 850 (as predators of screwworms). —Hess, 1958. Field and Lab. 26: 35-37. 

 — Kempf, 1961. Studia Ent. 4(n.s.): 551-552 (as a cave ant). — Rettenmeyer, 1963. Kans. 

 Univ., Sci. Bui. 44: 41&424. —Smith, 1965. U. S. Dept. Agr. Tech. Bui. 1326, pp. 17-18. 

 — Watkins and Cole, 1966. Tex. Jour. Sci. 18: 254-26i5 (attraction of workers to secretion of 

 queens). —Watkins, Cole, and Baldridge, 1967. Kans. Ent. Soc., Jour. 40: 146-151 (trail 

 following and trail preference). 



