Mr. J. O. Westwood’s Description, &c. 237 
XXXVI, Description of a new Dorylideous Insect from 
South Africa belonging to the Genus Ainictus. By J.O. 
Westwoop, F.L.S., &c. 
{Read 5th December, 1842. ] 
Tix attention of Hymenopterologists was a short time ago (namely 
in the summer of 1840) strongly aroused by the announcement by 
Mr. Shuckard of the “ discovery of an insect belonging to the 
group typified by Dorylus that will,” as he expressed himself, “ I 
expect, help to clear up the difficulty which has hitherto attended 
the completion of these genera, as yet consisting of males only.” 
But though the interest raised by this announcement was great, 
the question of the nature and relations of these groups was still 
left almost in statu quo; in fact, the insect in question proved to 
be the male of a species belonging to another genus of this 
singular group, affording no clue to the solution of the question 
in dispute; indeed, the result of Mr. Shuckard’s observations 
rather tended to the assertion of the ordinary bisexual character 
of Dorylus and its allies, and its consequent isolation from the 
family of the ants. The insect described by Mr. Shuckard was 
named by him Anicius ambiguus, and was described from speci- 
mens collected in India by Colonel Sykes. The geographical 
range of the species of this group was indeed an interesting fact, 
for hitherto no Labidus has been found but in the new world, 
although Dorylus was known to enjoy a wider range, occur- 
ring not only in Africa but also in the East Indies, whence I had 
a short time previously described a species collected by Mr. 
Saunders. To this gentleman I have since been indebted for a 
specimen of Ainicius ambiguus, of which species there are speci- 
mens in a large collection of Indian insects recently arrived in 
England, and now offered for sale by a merchant in the city. 
Previous to the publication of Mr. Shuckard’s memoir I had also 
discovered another species of 4/nictus in one of the store drawers 
of the Linnean Society’s Cabinet, which I believe to be also a 
native of India. Of this species, as well as of several new 
species of Labidus, 1 published figures and descriptions in my 
“ Arcana Entomologica” (pl. 20), wherein I endeavoured to prove 
the ant-nature of this group of insects, an opinion which I am 
happy to learn has been adopted by the distinguished Hymenop- 
terists Drs. Klug and Erichson of Berlin. Under these circum- 
stances I was greatly interested in recently detecting in a collection 
