'2S2 FOimiciDJi:. 



rielcls, and all day \ou^ a double stream of large, intermediate and 

 small workers coiiltl be seen during the hot weather and on fine 

 days, in the breaks in the rains, going empty and returning laden 

 \\'ith grass-seeds or paddy. Holcomyvmex moves very slow ly, but 

 is dogged and persevering. I can confirm Mr. Wroughton's 

 (observation as to these ants leaving a white track across the rocks 

 that their road happens to traverse. An interesting account of 

 Holcomi/nneA'scahriirps is given by Mr.Eothney in the •Transactions 

 of the Entomological Society of London,' IS.siJ, p. o67. 



Kei/ to the Sjiecies. 



n. Olypeal teeth present. 



a . Head entirely striate H. scahrkeps, p. 282. 



li . Anterior lialt" or anterior oiie-tliird only of 

 head striate. 

 ((-. Posterior half or two-tliirds of liead tinely, 



closely, but not dens^ely punctate //. criniceps, p. 282. 



h'. Posterior half or two-thirds of head 



smooth, poh.-hed and sliining //. f/lalwr, p. 284. 



h. Clypeal teeth entirely absent //. muticus, p. 284. 



;32U. Holcomyrmex criniceps, ^layr, Verh. -MoL-hot. Oea. If'ieu, 

 xxviii (1876), p. 672, ^ . 



^ maj. Kesembles in colour JI. scabricejis, but seems to me 

 more variable. Some specimens have the head and thorax dark 

 chestnut-brown or even black, and the abdomen dark red. Between 

 these latter and specimens with the head and thorax light ferru- 

 ginous and abdomen black, nearly all gradations can be found. 

 Differs from //. scahrkeps in the head being striate only anteriorly ; 

 from about the middle of the head upwards it is somewhat 

 distantly punctured, more densely so at the sides, the cheeks 

 below being striate. Thorax : the pro-mesoiiotum finely longi- 

 tudinally striate, the striae curving at the sides, the sculpture 

 being distinctly finer and less rugose than in H. scahriceps ; the 

 basal portion of the metanotum shorter than the pro-mesouotura, 

 finelv transversely striate ; the obtuse triangular tubercles at the 

 posterior lateral angles of the metauotum distinctly larger than in 

 H. scahricepjs ; legs as in that species, but proportionately a little 

 shorter. Pedicel and abdomen as in the genus. 



g min. Closely resembles the ^ ^^^«j-i much smaller, the head 

 proportionately rather large, the thorax more finely sculptured, 

 the stria? on the anterior portion of the head almost obsolete. 



Leiuith, ^ ^ 3"5-5*5 mm. 



Hah. Western India ( W mugliton) ; Southern India (Rothnei/) ; 

 Ceylon {Yerhury) ; Biu'ma, Pegu Yoma {Allan S)- Binyham). 



321 . Holcomyrmex scahriceps, Ma>/r, Vcrh.zool-bvt. Ges. Wien, xxviii 



(1878;,p. (i72, y. 



^ maj. Head, thorax and pedicel reddish ferruginous ; the 



