A Monograph of the Formicidae of Sotith Africa. 45 



pronotum. Node of petiole a little wider and thicker above than 

 in the £ . Wings brownish yellow, nervures and stigma brown. 

 Alar expanse 29 mm. 



g . 14 mm. Black ; wings fuscous, nervures brown, stigma 

 piceous. Head and thorax with a close yellow pubescence, especially 

 on the epinotum and posterior face of the node, and a fairly abundant 

 pilosity of yellowish hairs. Abdomen with a pale inconspicuous 

 pubescence, less abundant on the 3rd and following segments ; 

 ventral segments with long, pale hairs. 



Head and thorax moderately shining, irregularly and shallowly 

 punctured ; the base of the mesonotum punctate-striate ; the scutel- 

 lum finely punctured. Abdomen very shining and with a bluish 

 reflection, all the segments very finely and sparsely punctured. 

 The 1st segment has on each side of the apical margin a trans- 

 versely elongate, and almost obsolete, angle or hump. Pygidium 

 very smooth and shining, with a few fine punctures. Other 

 characters as for the genus. 



This species is widely but locally distributed. Generally the £ £ 

 go about singly, but occasionally forage in short columns, in single 

 file. The food is varied, but consists largely of termites. The nests 

 have several entrances, which are sometimes surrounded by large 

 heaps of finely divided earth. The species has a most powerful 

 and offensive smell, which appears to me to resemble that of the 

 juice in a foul tobacco pipe. 



Bulawayo, Victoria Palls, Bembesi and Matoppos, Ehodesia ; 

 Willowmore. (Brauns.) Zululand. (Marley.) (S.A.M., E.M., G.A. 

 coll.) 



Var. delagoensis, Emery. 

 Ann, Soc. Ent. Belg., vol. 43, p. 468, g , 1899. 



This differs from the type in having the median longitudinal 

 raised line of the clypeus extending further back, and in the less 

 distinctly striated mandibles. 



Delagoa Bay. (S.A.M. coll.) 



These characters are variable in Ehodesian specimens, in which 

 as a rule the mandibles are only very faintly striate, and it appears 

 to me doubtful whether the above form is worthy of even varietal 

 distinction. If it is, the Ehodesian examples ought perhaps to be 

 referred to it. In a specimen from West Africa in my possession 

 the mandibles are almost smooth, and the clypeus projects back 

 only a short distance between the frontal carinae, but the striation 

 of the head is much stronger than in the Ehodesian examples. 



