278 
Psyche 
[September- December 
is distinguished by a much shorter pilosity; rounded, tapering 
head shape; much sparser pilosity; and the certain existence of 
a worker caste. 
Holotype queen. Head width, across and including the com- 
pound eyes, 1.12 mm; head length, exclusive of mandibles, 1.21 
mm; scape length 1.17 mm; total body length approximately 
4.8 mm. Most of the diagnostic features have been illustrated 
in Figure 1. Body medium brown, with sides of pronotum light 
brown; appendages mostly light, almost light yellowish brown. 
Edwin S. George Reserve, Livingston Co., Michigan; 16 Au- 
gust 1971; collected by Mary Talbot, series no. 71-45, in a nest 
of Formica obscuripes. 
Other series. Fifteen paratype queens from the holotype nest 
series varied in head width 1.12-1.18 mm (mean 1.15 mm). Queens 
in five additional nest series from the type locality (collection 
dates; 25 June 1969, 29 June 1970, 17 September 1970, 18 Sep- 
tember 1970, 29 July 1974) were closely similar to the holotype 
nest series in size and other characteristics. All were collected 
in nests of F. obscuripes (see Talbot, 1977). 
An additional series of F. talbotae queens was examined from 
Lakeside Laboratory, Milford, Iowa; they had been taken from 
a nest of Formica obscuripes by R. L. King (accession no. 485, 13 
July 1952). These are closely similar in all traits to the holotype 
nest series; for example, the head width of 8 specimens was 1.12- 
1.17 mm (mean 1.15 mm). A third series from the University of 
North Dakota Biological Area, Grand Forks Co., North Da- 
kota (P. B. Kannowski leg., 3 August 1971) was assigned to tal- 
botae. These queens differed from the Michigan series in having 
somewhat denser pilosity and being slightly larger (head width 
of 5 queens was 1.18-1.19 mm). They were also collected in a 
nest of F. obscuripes. 
Males. Males in the holotype nest series and other collections 
from the E. S. George Reserve are distinguished from males of 
other microgyna group species by pilosity traits paralleling those 
of the queens; the hairs are short (0.05-0.08 mm) and dense on 
both the body and appendages, with many on the occiput, meso- 
notum, and propodeum blunt to spatulate. Head width of 10 
individuals in the holotype nest series was 1.12-1.29 mm (mean 
1.22 mm). 
