252 Annals of the South African Museum. 



dorsal face less raised arid more rounded ; the 2nd node is almost half 

 as wide again as the 1st, flatter than in the $ , its posterior-dorsal 

 margin strongly convex. Abdomen subovate, narrowing towards the 

 apex. Wings as in the $ . 



S. Rhodesia ; Natal ; common over the greater part of the Ethiopian 

 region. (S.A.M., E.M., G.A. colls.) 



The <$ <$ and ? ? of this species are occasionally very plentiful 

 after rains, but the minute ^ £ are rarely seen. The first specimens 

 of the latter were found, together with the ? , by Haviland in Natal, in 

 the nest of a termite. Some specimens in my collection were taken 

 by Mr. Zealley at Hartley, S. Rhodesia, and were issuing from holes 

 in the ground with the winged sexes, far removed from any termite 

 mound. Others were taken by myself under similar conditions at the 

 Yictoria Falls. Since on the latter occasion different $ $ , with 

 the coloration of the abdomen varying from red to dark brown, were 

 emerging from the same hole, it would seem that the distinction of the 

 race abdominalis, Santschi (Bull. Soc. Ent. France, p. 285, 1912), based 

 only on the colour of the abdomen, can no longer be maintained. 



It is probable that the dense tufts of hairs on the tarsi of the $ 

 serve an important purpose — that of enabling some of the minute 

 ^ ^ to attach themselves to the body of the $ when the latter is 

 about to leave the parental nest. Several specimens of the $ have 

 been taken by me with one or more ^ 5 biting on to the tarsal 

 fimbriae. I am inclined to suspect that the young cpaeen cannot start 

 a new nest without the help of one or more of the $ ? from the old 

 nest, on account of the size of her mouth -parts, which would probably 

 be too large and clumsy to tend the tiny larvae of her first brood, and 

 that it is therefore essential that she should have with her some £ $ 

 which are able to feed the larvae by conveying to them the nourish- 

 ment taken from the mouth of the queen. 



Race JmsroDi, Forel. 



Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg., vol. 48, p. 154, ? , 1904. Rev. Zool. Afric, 

 vol. 2, p. 336, £ , 1913. 



" ^ . 1' 7-1*9 mm. Differs from vidua s. str. by having the eso- 

 epinotal suture distinctly constricted and by the mandibles, which 

 have three distinct teeth in front and a small, obtuse, and indistinct 

 tooth behind. The size is also somewhat greater. Otherwise identical 

 with vidua." 



" $ . 23 mm. Very similar to vidua type, but the thorax and 

 abdomen narrower and more elongated in proportion. The head is 



