FORMICA. 275 



cordata vel supra profunde exsecta ; alls hyalinis obsoletissime fuscedine 

 tinctis, nervis cinereo-flavidis, stigmate parum fusciori. 



$. Long. 3J lin. Sat longe flavido-pubescens valde nitida, capite fere ut 

 in 5. Clypeus obsolete convexiusculus, margine infero tenui in medio recta 

 late truncate ; vestigio vix ullo carinulae. Linea frontalis elevatiuscula. 

 Oculi parce pilosull, pilis his nonnullis parvis tenuibus apice flexis. Thorax 

 mesonoto toto cum parte adjacente prothoracis, scutello, postscutello, meso- 

 pleuris et mesosterno obscurius vel dilutius infuscatis. Alae ut in diagnosi, 

 stigmate pallide fusco ; anticae 3|- lin. longae. Pedes pubescentes, tibiis 

 cum tarsis saepe cinerascentibus vel obscurioribus. Squama ut in ^ valde 

 compressa, profunde semiovaliter exsecta. Abdomen nitidum crebre sub- 

 tiliter flavido pubescens, pubescentia ventris longiori. Basis abdominis 

 truncata macula magna et segmentum anale rufa. 



Mas : niger parum nitidus brevius pubescens, genitalibus et pedibus vel 

 totis vel ad partem testaceo-pallescentibus ; occipite parum emarginato ; 

 squama transversim subrectangulari crassa, supra late concaviuscula ; alis 

 hyalinis stigmate fusco. 



cJ. Long. 3-3J iin. Similis mari F. rufae, sed magis nitidus, occipite con- 

 caviusculo alarumque colore nullo statim distinguitur. Brevius flavido 

 pubescens quam $, abdominis pubescentia subtiliori decumbente. Oculi, ut 

 in $, tenuissime pilosuli ; ocelli in cacumine verticis elevatiusculi. Alae 

 hyalinae ne minimis fere vestigiis fuscescentiae, nervis flavido-cinereis, 

 stigmate fusco ; anticae fere 3j lin. longae. Pedes vel pallescenti-cinerei, 

 coxis obscurioribus vel femoribus fere totis cum tibiis tarsisque pallide 

 testaceis, pubescentia flavida cinerascentibus. Genitalia fere ut in F. rufa. 

 Marginibus segmentorum certo situ magis nitidis, concoloribus." 



Habitat. 



Formica exsecta ranges over North and Central Europe ; Alps, 

 Caucasus, Siberia, Altai Mountains 44 . Wheeler has recently 

 described a new variety from Japan under the name oifukaii* 5 . In 

 North America F. exsecta is represented by the well-known mound- 

 building ant of the Alleghanies, Formica exsectoides Forel, which 

 builds very large nests and establishes huge colonies one of these 

 studied by McCook comprising some one thousand six hundred 

 nests ! 



Its British distribution is as follows : 



Cornwall, W. : Land's End (Isabell). 



Devon, S. : Bovey Tracey (Hamm) 25 . 



Dorset : Lyme Regis (Nevinson) ; Poole (F. Smith) 7 . 



Isle of Wight : Parkhurst Forest (E. A. Butler}. 



Hants, S. : Bournemouth 6 (F. Smith) ; Boscombe 19 and Ring- 

 woocl 18 (Farr en-White) ; Parkstone (Saunders) 21 ; New Forest 

 (Bradley) 23 . 



Worcester : Bewdley (Blatch) 2 *. 



Mid Perth : Rannoch (Donisthorpe) 39 . 



Aberdeen, S. : Braemar (Donisthorpe) 38 . 



Easterness : Aviemore 34 and Nethy Bridge 41 (Donisthorpe) ; 

 Boat of Garten (Beare)* 2 . 



Formica exsecta nests in sunny places, on the borders of woods, 

 in clearings of woods and forests, in unsheltered places, on open 

 heaths, by the sides of paths and roads, in clumps of grass, and 



