282 BRITISH ANTS. 



Original description of Formica sanguinea Latreille [Ess. Hist. 

 Fourmis France 37-38 (1798)] : 



"11. * F. sanguine, sanguinea. O. g. D'un rouge sanguin. Yeux et 

 abdomen noirs. Trois petits yeux lisses. Ecaille ovee, un peu echancree." 



Habitat. 



Formica sanguinea is distributed throughout the Palaearctic 

 region, but in the southern portions of Europe and Asia it only 

 occurs in hilly or mountainous country. In Europe it ranges south 

 as far as Sicily, in Asia as far as the Himalayas (Cashmir) and 

 Lahoul, on the frontier of Thibet. 79 



Four varieties have been described from Siberia, the Caucasus, 

 Andalusia, and Japan and it is represented in North America by 

 some five subspecies, and varieties. 



The British distribution is as follows : 



Dorset : Parley Heath (Haines). 



Hants, S. : New Forest (F. Smith) 16 ; Hants, N. : Cove 4 , 

 Hawley 16 , and Blackwater 19 (F. Smith) ; Selborne (Dale Coll.) ; 

 Fleet (E.A. Butler}. 



Sussex, E. : Hove (Unwin) 5 * ; Guestling Wood (Donisthorpe). 



Surrey : Weybridge 15 and Croydon 17 (F. Smith) ; Chobham 27 and 

 Woking 43 (Saunders) ; Byfleet (Morice) ; Blackheath, near Guild- 

 ford (Champion) ; Shirley (Rothney) 31 ; Ewhurst and Leith Hill 

 (E. A. Butler] ; Hind Head (Donisthorpe}. 



Berks : Wellington College and Crowthorne (Farren-White)* 2 ; 

 Burghfield (Barnes) 5 * ; Mortimer (Hamm). 



Bedford : Heath-on-Reach, near Leighton Buzzard (G. Craw- 

 shay) . 



Worcester : Wyre Forest 46 and Bewdley (Martineau). 



Mid Perth : Rannoch (Donisthorpe) 77 . 



Easterness : Aviemore and Nethy Bridge (Donisthorpe) 58 . 



Formica sanguinea, the blood-red Robber Ant, our only slave- 

 maker, is one of the most interesting species, showing great in- 

 telligence in adapting its habits to varying circumstances. It is 

 a restless, warlike, and courageous ant, running rapidly, and 

 attacks an intruder fiercely when its nest is disturbed, biting 

 viciously and ejecting acid, but not raising the gaster between the 

 legs, as do rufa and pratensis, when angry. This species lives in 

 clearings of woods, on heaths, and commons, on the borders of 

 woods and hedges, by the sides of roads and paths, and loves 

 heathy land near pine woods. 



It prefers uncultivated places, sometimes dwelling in meadows, 

 at a distance from human habitations, being driven away before 

 cultivation, and shuns gardens, as pointed out by Forel 21 although 

 Schenck records its occurrence in such places 11 . The nests and 

 nesting places, of sanguinea are very variable, being situated in 



