110 Mr. Smith's Essay on the Genera and 



Formica nigra, Linn. Faun. Suec, p, 426, No. 1722; Syst. 

 Nat., i. 963, 4, ? ; Scop. Ent. Cam., p. 834 ; 

 Fabr. Ent. Syst,, ii. 350, 10 ; Schrank, Ins. 

 Aust., p. 823 ; Latr. Hist. Nat. Fourm., p. 

 156, ^, ?, 5 ; St. Farg. Hym., i. 206, 7; 

 Losana, Form. Pied., 11 ; Nyland. Adno. 

 Mon. Form. p. 920. 



Formica fusea, Foerster, Hym. Stud. Form. 



Lasius niger, Fabr. Syst. Piez., p. 415, 1. 



Female. — Length 3| lines. Fuscous, densely covered with ci- 

 nereous silky pubescence ; the head shining; the mandibles, ante- 

 rior margins of the face on each side of the clypeus, the flagellura 

 and legs rufo- testaceous, the tarsi and joints of the latter palest ; 

 the ocelli distinct, and of a glassy brightness, eyes sparingly 

 pilose ; the head is narrower than the thorax. Thorax smooth 

 and shining; wings of milky whiteness, hyaline and iridescent, the 

 nervures of a testaceous yellow, costal nervure fuscous ; the scale 

 deep])' notched above, the lateral angles rounded, the sides nearly 

 straight. Abdomen elongate-ovate, rather longer than the head 

 and thorax ; the margins of the segments membranaceous, and 

 narrowly pale testaceous ; the silky gloss varying in brilliancy in 

 different lights. 



Worker. — Length 1^ — 11 lines. The head and legs coloured 

 as in the female ; eyes not prominent, the ocelli very minute, 

 scarcely distinguishable without a high microscopic power ; in 

 small individuals, the thorax similar in form to F.Jlava, abdominal 

 scale small, vertical and subrectangular, minutely notched above. 

 Abdomen ovate, thinly sprinkled with yellow hairs, particularly 

 the apical segments ; the margins of the segments obscurely mem- 

 branaceous, shining and thinly sprinkled with long hairs beneath. 



Male. — Length 1£ lin. Dark fuscous, the tubercles at the 

 base of the scape of the antennae and the tips of the mandibles 

 rufo-testaceous ; the basal joint of the flagellum short, obconical, 

 much stouter than the following joints ; eyes and ocelli promi- 

 nent, the vertex slightly concave. The wings, as in the female, 

 more ample than in F.Jlava, the discoidal cell frequently obso- 

 lete ; the scale small, scarcely emarginate above. Abdomen 

 ovate, the margins of the segments narrowly and obsoletely testa- 

 ceous. 



This Ant is best known in England as the garden Ant ; it forms 

 its nest usually in the ground, but not uncommonly in old brick 

 walls, &c. ; it is found in woods, fields, gardens, and even in the 

 middle of towns, where I have frequently observed the pave- 



