270 



Aphaanogaster, Mayr, Verh. zool.-bot. Ver. Wlen, iii (1853), p. 107. 

 Ischnomyrmex, Mayr, Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, xii (1862), p. 738. 



Type, A. sardous, Mayr, from Sardinia. 



Range. Both hemispheres. 



. Of slender form. Head longer than broad, often elongated 

 posteriorly into a neck ; mandibles subtriangular, the masticatory 

 margin dentate, the outer margin not strongly curved ; clypeus 

 somewhat flat, the anterior margin transverse, posteriorly produced 

 between the bases of the antennae, and the margin rounded ; frontal 

 area depressed ; aritennal carinse short, posteriorly convergent, 

 antennal and clypeal hollows large, confluent ; antennae 12-jointed, 

 slender and filiform, the club of the flagellum not much thickened, 

 formed of the apical four joints ; eyes of moderate size, lateral, 

 placed about the middle of the head ; ocelli absent. Thorax 

 narrow, elongate ; pro-mesonotal suture generally slight, meso- 

 metanotal suture very distinct ; metanotal spines short, triangular, 

 dentiform, generally more or less erect ; legs remarkably long and 

 slender, the intermediate and posterior tibiae with one simple spur, 

 the spur of the anterior tibiae pectinate, claws simple. Pedicel 

 elongate; the 1st node subconical, rounded above, generally with 

 a long petiole in front ; 2nd node oval, usually longer than broad ; 

 abdomen oval, very convex above and below. Pilosity more or 

 less abundant, long and somewhat coarse, often setiform, the 

 hairs obtuse at apex. 



$ . Eesembles the ; ocelli present ; wings long and somewhat 

 narrow, with one cubital cell. 



6 . Antennae 13-jointed, the scape very short, the apical 5 joints 

 of the flagellum the longest ; wings as in the $ . 



Key to the Specif*. 



A. Head posteriorly produced and constricted, 

 forming a more or less cylindrical neck or 

 collar. 



a. Metanotum transversely rugose above, ob- 



liquely and somewhat coarsely stiiate on the 



sides " A. beccarii, p. 271. 



b. Metanotum smooth or at most with a few 



scattered punctures. 

 a'. Length under 5 mm. ; 2nd node of pedicel 



as broad as long A. lonyipes, p. 272. 



U. Length over 5 mm. ; 2nd node of pedicel 



distinctly nearly twice as long as broad . . A.fece, p. 273. 



as true genera so far as the limited fauna dealt with in this volume is con- 

 cerned. Ischnomyrmex (type Myrmica longipes, Smith) I regard simply as 

 an exaggerated slender form of Aphanogastcr. On the other hand, Messor, 

 X ore! (type formica barbara, Linn.), seems to me clearly differentiated, not 

 only by its tar more massive build, but by the polymorphism of its workers. 

 It is, moreover, a strict vegetarian and harvester like Holcomyrmcx, whereas 

 Apfuenogaster is carnivorous. 



