THE YOUNG 



BRITISH ANTS— By G. C. BIQNELL. 

 (Continued from page iii.) 



Great Nore, a distance of five or six 

 miles. The column appeared to be in 

 breadth eight or ten feet, and in height 

 about six inches, by resting one upon 

 another. These ants were winged. Whence 

 this immense column came was not ascer- 

 tained. From the numbers here agglo- 

 merated, one would think that all the ant- 

 hills of the counties of Kent and Surrey 

 could scarcely have furnished a sufficient 

 number of males and females to form it."» 



The first thing a young collector will 

 wish to do, after capturing an ant, will be 

 to name it. This, with a little practice and 

 the assistance of the plates, he will, I have 

 no doubt, very shortly be able to accomplish. 

 When a capture is made, the segments of 

 the abdomen should be examined, in order 

 to see how many are narrowed, so as to 

 form nodes or bead-like divisions. If one, 

 then it belongs to one of the first seventeen ; 

 if with tv.o, then it must be sought among 

 the remainder. A glance at the plate (5) on 

 which Myrmica ruginodis is figured will show 

 what is meant by two nodes or bead-like 

 divisions. 



Genus FORMICA, Linn. 



Male and female about equal in size ; the 

 worker very variable in this respect. The 

 large worker is often more than half as 

 large again as the small one. Maxillary 

 palpi with six joints (plate 5, fig. 5); labial 

 with four joints. Antennae thirteen-jointed 

 in the male, and twelve in the female and 

 worker. Upper wings with one marginal, 

 two submarginal, and one discoidal cells ; 

 the apical margin of the second submarginal 

 being the actual edge of the wing. Petiole 

 with an erect, flattened scale, generally 

 more or less triangular, widest above. 



The species of this genus are rather 

 naturally divided into two sections by their 

 habits; the first four making their nests 

 * Eirby and Spenee. 



NATURmST. 127 



above ground, the last three underground. 



Messrs. Emery and Forel consider the 

 last three to be all races of one species. 



1. Formica Rufa, Linn. 



Male. — (PI. 5, fig. i) black-brown ; legs 

 and genital segments testaceous; base of 

 femora, tibiae and tarsi sometimes darker. 

 Head and thorax covered with fine semi- 

 erect hairs. Mandibles not toothed. Eyes 

 with scattered hairs. Abdomen widest at 

 the base, somewhat egg-shaped. Wings 

 clouded with brown at the base ; nerves 

 brown. Length 10-12 mill. 



Female.— (PI. 5. fig. 2; head and thorax 

 dull-red ; the antennae, the upper part of 

 the head, the middle of the clypeus more or 

 less, and the mesothorax dull-fuscous ; the 

 scutellum and abdomen shining black; the 

 tibiae, tarsi, and tips of the femora reddish- 

 fuscous ; the femora, scale of the petiole, and 

 base of the abdomen dull-red ; wings clouded 

 as in the male; eyes not hairy. Length 10 mill. 



Worker. — (PI. 5, fig. 3) head and thorax 

 dull-red ; the antennae, the upper part of 

 the head, the pro, and mesothorax more or 

 less above the legs and abdomen dark-fus- 

 cous. Small and large workers var>' in size 

 from 6 to 10 mill. [A scale for measurement 

 will be found on plate 5.] 



Habitat. — Common in woods, &c., gene- 

 rally forming its dome-like nest on the 

 ground, but occasionally in the trunk of an 

 old tree. The males and females appear 

 about midsummer. In August, 1877. I dis- 

 covered a very large nest of this ant, and 

 observed a number of large workers bringing 

 home to their nest other ants of the same 

 species as prisoners ; and on the 23rd August, 

 1878, I again visited the same formicarium 

 and found the war in full force. The raid 

 this time was made on a small nest about 

 two hundred feet from the large one. The 

 stream of workers was continuous. The 

 distance from each other on their homeward 

 journey was about eight or ten inches, each 

 (Continued on page 143.^ 



