WHEELER: ANTS OF THE GENUS FORMICA. 513 
94. F. GaGaATEs Latreille. 
F. gagates Latreille, Essai hist. fourmis France, 1798, p. 36, 8 9; Hist. nat. 
fourmis, 1802, p. 138, pl. 5, fig. 26, 8 9; Lepeletier, Hist. nat. insect. 
Hymén., 1836, 1, p. 200, 8 9; Mayr, Verh. Zool. bot. ver. Wien, 1855, 5, 
p. 347, 8 @ o&; Europ. Formicid., 1861, p. 46, 8 @ co; Ern. André, 
Spec. Hymén. Europ., 1882, 2, pt. 14, p. 182, 189, 8 9 o; Dalla Torre, 
Catalog. Hymen., 1893, 7, p. 198. 
F. fusca st. gagates Forel, Denks. Schweiz. gesell. Naturw., 1874, 26, p. 53, 
ite Ss, Se 
F. fusca gagates var. muralewiczi Ruzsky, Formicar. Imper Ross., 1905, p. 384. 
F. fusca subsp. gagates Emery, Deutsch. ent. zeitschr., 1909, p. 194, fig. 7, 8 
ot 
Worker. Length 5-7.5 mm. 
Closely related to F. fusca. Large and robust. Epinotum in pro- 
file rounded, without an angle between the base and declivity. Peti- 
ole broad, much compressed anteroposteriorly, with thin, sharp border. 
Nearly the whole body smooth and shining, usually also the frontal 
area. Gaster very shining, very finely and transversely shagreened. 
Hairs whitish, coarse, rather abundant on the gaster but very sparse 
elsewhere. Pubescence short and sparse, not concealing the shining 
surface. 
Body deep black, mandibles dark brown, antennae, except their 
tips and legs, dark red or brown, with middle portion of the femora and 
tibiae sometimes black. 
FEMALE. Length 9-11 mm. 
Body robust. Head and thorax slightly, gaster more shining; 
Mesonotum with a few scattered foveolae. Pubescence on gaster very 
sparse. Color like that of the worker. Wings usually deeply and 
uniformly infuscated. 
Mae. Length 9-10 mm. 
Closely resembling the male of the typical fusca in color and sculp- 
ture but the pubescence longer and more abundant so that the body 
has a silky luster. Hairs almost absent, except on the venter. Petiole 
thick, with very blunt, entire or nearly entire superior border. 
This form, which I would regard as an independent species and 
not as a subspecies of fusca, is confined to Asia Minor and Southern 
Europe (Southern France, Italy, Southern Germany, Austro-Hungary, 
the Balkan Peninsula, and the Crimea). According to Emery, Mayr 
detected transitions between this form and F. fusca picea in material 
from the Caucasus. Forel, who has studied the habits of gagates 
in Austria and Canton Ticino, Switzerland, found it nesting in oak 
forests under large stones and roots. The galleries are large and deep. 
