MB. F. SMITH ON SOME NEW SPECTEB OF ANTS. 



31 



all seasons watched the same ant-cities during the last twelve 

 years, and I know that what I stated in my former letter is true. 

 I visited the same cities yesterday, and found the crop of ant-rice 

 growing finely, and exhibiting also the signs of high cultivation, 

 and not a blade of any other kind of grass or weed was to be seen 

 within twelve inches of the circular row of ant-rice." 



In his second letter Dr. Lincecum proceeds to give some account 

 of what he terms the "Horticultural Ant," which appears to be 

 identical with the " Cutting Ant," CEcodoim mexicana, Sm., de- 

 scribed by Mr. S. B. Buckley in the - Proceedings of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,' 1860, p. 233 * ; but as his 

 account does not contain any important additional observations, it 

 is here omitted. 



Mr. Buckley also describes (I. c. p. 445), the "Agricultural" or 

 "Mount-making Ant," although his account of its habits will be 

 found to differ in several respects from that given by Dr. Lince- 

 cum. 



Descriptions of some New Species of Ants from the Holy Land, 

 with a Synonymic List of others previously described. By 

 Frederick Smith, Esq., Assistant in the Zoological Depart- 

 ment, British Museum. Communicated by Danl. Hanbury, 

 Esq., F.L.S. 



[Kead April 4, 1861.] 



The ants which form the subject of the present paper were col- 

 lected in Syria and Palestine by Dr. J. D. Hooker and Mr. 

 Daniel Hanbury, during a visit of a few weeks to those countries 

 in September and October last. The species, though only ten in 

 number, are part of a fauna replete with interest : all the produc- 

 tions, in fact, of the Holy Land are so worthy of our attention, 

 that he who adds even the smallest number of species to the list 

 does not w r ork in vain. 



I am not prepared to say how many, or even if any, of the spe- 

 cies of Ants forming the present list have been recorded as indige- 

 nous to Palestine ; but in one or two cases the knowledge of the 

 geographical distribution of ants is rendered highly interesting. 

 Not only do we here find species common to Southern Europe, but 

 in Formica hrunnea and Tapinoma erratica w r e recognize insects 

 found even in the vicinity of our own metropolis. A few observa- 



* A notice of this paper will be found in the Annals & Mag. Nat. Hist. 3 ser. 

 vi. p. 386. 



