A Monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. 245 



almost quadrate ; longitudinally striate, and also sparsely and 

 coarsely punctured. The striae are narrow and deep. Ocelli not 

 large ; rather wide apart. Clypeus as in the £ . Thorax a little wider 

 than the head ; sparsely but strongly punctured laterally above ; the 

 median area almost impunctate. Pronotum not exposed above; the 

 apical half of the dorsum of the epinotum shallowly excavated, the 

 excavation widening towards the brow of the declivity, and margined 

 on each side by a long, oblique, rounded ridge (hardly a carina). The 

 vertical declivity is finely and transversely striate, as are also the sides 

 of the epinotum. The 1st node of petiole without a distinct peduncle. 

 Seen from in front, it is an elongate triangle with the base at the 

 dorsal surface, the latter narrowly emarginate in the middle ; the 

 posterior face of the node is sub vertical. The 2nd node is globose. 

 The abdomen and nodes are sparsely and fairly strongly punctured. 

 Wings hyaline, nervures brown. 



$ . 5 mm. Black ; flagellum ochreous ; tarsi and tibiae brownish 

 yellow. Pilosity as in the ? . Head widest in front, trapezoidal, the 

 angles considerably rounded. Eyes large, placed in the anterior half 

 of the head ; ocelli on a slightly raised area. Anterior margin of 

 clypeus convex ; the median area raised and bearing a squarish 

 tubercle, not carinate or dentate. Mandibles short, narrow, tridentate, 

 the hindmost tooth very small and obtuse. Antennae 12-jointed ; the 

 scape very short, when extended laterally, only just reaching the inner 

 margin of the eye ; the 1st joint of the flagellum swollen and globose ; 

 the remaining joints much longer than wide. Head densely and finely 

 reticulate-striate. Thorax widest across the tegulae. Pronotum not 

 exposed above. Mesonotum as wide as long, narrow and gibbous in 

 front. The dorsum of the epinotum is wider than in the ? , and 

 merges more gradually into the declivity, and is barely excavated. 

 The whole thorax very finely reticulate-striate ; the disc of the 

 scutellum smooth, shining, and sparsely punctured. The 1st node 

 similar to that of the ? ; but the anterior face is more quadrate and 

 less oblique, the dorsal edge shallowly and more widely emarginate, 

 the corners slightly raised; the posterior-dorsal face very finely and 

 concentrically striate. The 2nd node is one- third wider than the 1st ; 

 longer than wide ; its sides are parallel along their posterior two- 

 thirds, and converge sharply inwards at the anterior third, forming a 

 distinct but wide angle on each side. Abdomen broad, the 1st 

 segment occupying more than half its length. Legs slender. Wings 

 as in the ? . 



Widely distributed throughout S. Africa. Sometimes forming very 

 large colonies containing many hundreds of workers. 



