328 BRITISH ANTS. 



Hants, S. : Bournemouth (F. Smith) 9 ; New Forest 26 (Arnold 

 and Piffard). 



Glamorgan : Rhosilli (T. W. Allen). 



Formica picea was described by Nylander in 1846 1 , in 1855 it 

 was incorrectly sunk by Mayr as a synonym of F. gagates Latr. 6 , 

 and curiously enough, Nylander, in 1856, followed Mayr in treating 

 his own species as a synonym of gagates 1 . Nylander 's species was 

 again brought forward by Emery in 1909, who distinguishes it from 

 gagates by the shape of the epinotum, and points out that the latter 

 is a more southern and westerly form than picea 28 . I possess 

 specimens of gagates from Vienna. 



Its history as a British insect is as follows : In 1866 F. Smith 

 added it to the British list, on specimens taken by his son at Bourne- 

 mouth, under the name of gagates 9 , but he subsequently regarded 

 it as distinct from that species and believed it to be a curious 

 form of fusca, and in 1880 Saunders again brought it forward as a 

 British insect as gagates 12 . In 1883 Farren- White rightly con- 

 sidered it to be distinct from that insect, and gave it the name of 

 glabra 15 , but Saunders in 1885, when criticizing Farren -White's 

 views, again attributes it to gagates, and though he admits our 

 specimens are undoubtedly smaller and paler than continental 

 ones, he remarks that surely it is more likely to belong to a known 

 form on the Continent than to a new species 16 . This was true 

 enough, but it did not follow that our species must be gagates. In 

 1892 and 1893 Farren- White rediscovered picea at Bournemouth 20 , 

 taking a female and many workers, and he says the differences 

 between this species and continental gagates are most marked 21 , 

 that it is sufficiently distinct to form a new species 22 , and he retains 

 his name glabra for it ; but in 1896 Saunders again refers to it as 

 gagates 23 . 



In 1905 Arnold and Piffard discovered picea in the New Forest, 

 and Saunders having named these specimens gagates, they were 

 recorded as such 26 . 



In 1912 Crawley and I again found it in the New Forest, and I 

 pointed out that the British species doing duty under the names of 

 glabra and gagates was picea 33 ; and in 1913 I reviewed the British 

 captures to date, and published drawings to show how it differed 

 from gagates both in the shape of the epinotum and of the scale 34 . 

 In the same year I detected a specimen kindly sent to me among 

 some ants from Rhosilli by Mr. T. W. Allen, and in 1914 I first 

 discovered two, and subsequently five, colonies of picea in the New 

 Forest, which will be mentioned again presently. 



Bonner 36 , in an interesting paper on the history and habits of 

 this ant, published in 1914, lists and discusses the literature of the 

 subject, but he does not appear to be aware of the observations 

 of Farren- White, Arnold, or Donisthorpe. He refers however to 

 Saunders' record in 1880 of F. gagates as British, stating that he 



