276 Mr. F. Smith's Revision of 



opinion, to be compared to a deviation in excess of the normal 

 number of joints in the antennae of males ; indeed, so very rare 

 is this the case, that only a single instance has been, to my know- 

 ledge, recorded ; this occurs in the genus Pheidole {(Ecophthora, 

 Heer), the male of which has seventeen-jointed antennae. The 

 above remarkable phenomena are quite sufficient to awaken our 

 curiosity and beget a desire to investigate the structure of these 

 wonderful creatures, but it forms a mere prelude to perhaps the 

 most incomprehensible, or certainly at present impenetrable, 

 mystery which is to be found in the entire range of the insect 

 world ; I allude to the amazing variety in the size and situation 

 of the eyes; in some species these organs occupy the greater part 

 of the head, in others they are reduced to so minute a scale that 

 they are only perceptible under a considerable magnifying power, 

 in many species they are entirely obliterated. If the presence 

 or absence of the eyes proved to be an index to the habit of the 

 species, the mystery which at present surrounds the subject 

 would have no existence, but such is not the case : species whose 

 habits are to a considerable extent subterranean, are furnished 

 with these organs, whilst others, whose habit is to live and forage 

 above ground, are without eyes. In the genus Pseudomyrma all 

 the species have very large eyes, occupying in some instances the 

 whole of the sides of the head ; in some ants the eyes are 

 placed high on the head, in others, as in CEcodoma, they are 

 situated low down near the base of the mandibles. The pre- 

 sence or absence of ocelli is equally remarkable : in the workers 

 of the genus Formica they are usually present, but a few ex- 

 ceptions are to be met with ; whilst in the genus Myrmica and 

 its allies the ocelli as a rule are obliterated, they are however 

 present in the males and females of the entire family. The 

 number of ocelli is usually three, but in many instances they are 

 reduced to two, whilst in the genus Atta and (Ecodoma, in some 

 large-headed workers, the number is reduced to one, and this is 

 not placed in the usual situation on the vertex, but on the face 

 near the base of the clypeus. 



These brief allusions to exotic forms, it is hoped will beget 

 an interest in the minds of some members of the Entomo- 

 logical Society, and lead them to pursue the investigation of the 

 Formicidce, which, it will be seen, possesses an equal, if not 

 superior interest to any other family of insects. 



There is still another point of view in which we must briefly 

 survey them ; the unceasing industry of these creatures has 

 always been held up as a pattern to man for his guidance in that • 



