242 



273. Phidole megacephala, Fabr. (Formica) Ent. Syst. ii. 1793, 



p. 361 : Forel, Rev. Suisse Zool. x (1902), p. 173, I/ ; id. Jour. 

 Bomb.N. H. Soc. xiv (1902), p. 529. 



I/ . Yellowish brown all over, darkening towards the apex of 

 the abdomen. Pilosity pale, very sparse arid short. Head, thorax 

 and abdomen shining, for the most part smooth, head with a 

 few slight longitudinal striae anteriorly, effaced half wav up ; 

 thorax with a few fine and, on the metanotum, rather closely- 

 set punctures. Head proportionately very large, longer than 

 broad, the occipital emargination shallow, the lateral lobes 

 rounded, convex and highly polished, a somewhat deep longi- 

 tudinal medial depression on the vertex, continued as an impressed 

 line partially down the front ; mandibles punctured, shining ; 

 clypeus slightly emarginate medially, not carinate ; antennae 

 short, slender, the scape falling short of the top of the head by 

 about half its length ; no antennal groove. Thorax anteriorly 

 rounded, gibbous, the lateral pronotal tubercles slight, obtuse; 

 the mesonotal transverse groove and ridge barely indicated ; 

 metanotum depressed, flat above, the metanotal spines com- 

 paratively stout and erect. Pedicel : the 1st node squamiform, 

 with a distinct transverse upper margin ; the 2nd node much 

 broader, transverse, nearly twice as broad as long ; abdomen 

 broadly oval. 



$ . Brownish yellow all over, the head and abdomen slightly 

 darker. Head, thorax and abdomen smooth and shining ; pilosity 

 as in the I/. Head broadly oval, slightly constricted anteriorly 

 and posteriorly, with a distinct occipital margin ; antennae short 

 and slender, the scape only extending slightly beyond the top of 

 the head. Thorax moderately broad and convex anteriorly, the 

 transverse mesonotal groove barely indicated, the metanotum 

 dentate posteriorly, flat above. Pedicel comparatively long, the 

 1st node squamiform, the 2nd globose ; abdomen broadly oval. 



Length, 11 3'5-4 ; $ 2-2-5 mm. 



Hob. Recorded within our limits only from Burma (Fen, Sing- 

 ham), but this species is found in Africa and extends, or has been 

 introduced, into many parts of the tropics of both hemispheres. 



274. Phidole inus, Forel, Rev. Suisse Zool x (1902), pp. 173 & 191, 



I/ ? c? 5 id. Jour. Uomb. N. H. Soc. xiv (1902), pp. 529 & 542. 



I/ . Head and thorax dark castaneous brown ; abdomen, pedicel, 

 legs and scape of the antennae reddish brown, tarsi and flagellum 

 of the antennae yellowish. Head finely but very densely longi- 

 tudinally striate and pubescent, much longer than broad, and 

 about as broad posteriorly as in front, with the sides convex ; 

 mandibles smooth, minutely punctured ; clypeus with its anterior 

 margin transverse, not emarginate in the middle ; antenual carinae 

 very short ; no antennal groove ; scape of antennae falling short 

 of the top of the head by about its own length from insertion. 

 Thorax obscurely transversely striate; the pronotum laterally 



