84 
Psyche 
[June-Sept. 
from minuta in having longer antennal scapes, and from 
mus in having the mandibles entirely striate, the antennal 
scapes longer, and the first gastric segment broader. The 
female of bufonis is probably much larger. The panamensis 
female is smaller, has the mandibles more coarsely striate 
and more distinctly dentate, the lateral carina of the anten- 
nal scrobes less distinct, the epinotal tubercles much more 
protuberant, and the petiole longer than broad. A. carinata 
is named from the very distinct lateral carinse of the anten- 
nal scrobes. 
These ants were found in swamp rain forest back of the 
settlement. On a huge fallen log supported by its branches 
and buttress roots these two females, dealate females of 
Myrmicocrypta spinosa Weber and Cyphomyrmex rimosus 
Spinola, and a nest of C. bigibbosus ssp. faunulus Wheeler 
occurred in a small area of a few square centimeters. The 
Alfaria were under the harder shell of the log among debris 
left by wood-boring beetles and other insects in the softer 
internal wood. They moved about slowly as do dacetonine 
ants and were not discommoded by the strongly reflexed 
gaster, whose terminal segments were carried beneath the 
body. When I handled the ants they turned the terminal 
gastric segments from side to side, the large two basal seg- 
ments remaining rigid, and protruded the long sting in 
exactly the fashion of wasps. The sting of these small ants 
could not penetrate the skin. One was kept for a time in a 
small container and by August 27 had laid a white egg 
which was elliptical in shape but impressed on one side 
so as to be somewhat kidney-shaped. On a following day 
the egg was eaten. Unfortunately no other biological obser- 
vations have been made on these archaic ants. 
Literature Cited 
Borgmeier, T., 1937, Formigas novas on pouco conhecidas da America 
do Sul e Central, principamente do Brasil (Hymn. Formicidae), Arch. 
Inst. Biol. V eg., 3 : 217-255, 38 textfig. ; 5 pi. 
Weber, N. A., 1939, New Ants of Rare Genera and a New Genus of 
Ponerine Ants. Ann. E'nt. Soc. America, 32 : 91-104, 7 figs. 
