268 BRITISH ANTS. 



Formica rufa pratensis Emery Deutsch. Ent. Zeitschr. 1909 186-187 43 . 

 Formica pratensis Wheeler Ants 222 44 445 45 (1910). Formica rufa subsp. 

 pratensis Donisthorpe Entom. 44 390 (1911) 46 : Ent. Rec. 24 9 (1912) 47 . 

 Formica rufa pratensis Wheeler Bull. Mus. Compar. Zool. 53 428-429 (1913) 48 . 

 Formica pratensis Donisthorpe Ent. Rec. 26 40-41 (1914) 49 . 



^ Colour much as in rufa, but usually darker, with the black spot on the 

 pronotum reaching the posterior border and often fusing with the black spot on 

 the mesonotum ; the anterior border of the scale is often black, and the gaster is 

 all black ; legs darker than in rufa, being chiefly brown, and the whole body con- 

 siderably more hairy. In small specimens the greater part of the body is usually 

 blackish. 



Head : shape as in rufa ; frontal area duller and more punctured than in 

 rufa ; eyes with short outstanding hairs. Thorax as in rufa, but with pronotum 

 covered with outstanding hairs. Scale as in rufa, but furnished with abundant 

 outstanding hairs ; gaster with closer pubescence and with more abundant 

 outstanding hairs than in rufa. Legs with decumbent pubescence closer than 

 in rufa and furnished with suberect hairs as well as the usual bristles. Long. 

 4-5-9-5 mm. 



$ Very like rufa, but more hairy and pubescent, and with the gaster distinctly 

 pubescent. 



Head : shape as in rufa, with frontal area more punctured ; eyes sparsely 

 hairy. Scale hairy ; gaster closely punctured, pubescent, and furnished with 

 outstanding hairs, especially on the anterior border. Legs with closer and 

 longer decumbent pubescence than in rufa, and with suberect hairs as well 

 as the usual bristles. Wings as in rufa. Long. 9-5-11 mm. 



cJ Very like rufa, but slightly more robust, and distinctly more hairy. 



Head : shape as in rufa, but with more abundant outstanding hairs ; 

 eyes more hairy. Thorax considerably more hairy ; mesonotum with pit-like 

 punctures less distinct than in rufa, being more obscured by the hairs. Scale 

 more hairy ; gaster with more abundant erect hairs, and closer and more 

 plentiful decumbent pubescence. Legs with suberect hairs besides the usual 

 bristles, and with closer and more abundant decumbent pubescence than in 

 rufa. Wings as in rufa. Long. 9-5-11-5 mm. 



In Continental and Bournemouth specimens, the workers appear 

 to run larger, and the colours are more distinct, the red being 

 brighter, and the black more neatly defined. 



Original description of Formica pratensis Retz : 



" Fourmi rousse des pres. 2. Fourmi rousse a tete et a ventre noirs, a 

 ecaille sur le filet du ventre " [De Geer Mem. Hist. Ins. 2 1080 (1771)]. 



" 325. F. pratensis, rufa, capite abdomineque nigris, petiolo abdominis 

 squamifero T. 2 p. 1080 " [Retzius Gen. Spec. Ins. De Geer 75 (1783)]. 



Habitat. 



Formica pratensis ranges over Northern and Central Europe, 

 Siberia, and is found on the island of Sakhalin ; in Europe it 

 extends southward to Southern Italy in the high mountains 48 . 



British distribution It is probable that some of the older 

 British records of F. pratensis only refer to F. rufa, and possibly 

 the var. rufo-pratensis Farren- White credits Dale with the 

 capture of pratensis at Holnest, Porlock, and Exmouth 36 , but there 

 are no specimens labelled with these localities in the Dale collection, 



