PSYCHE 
Vol. 62 September, 1955 No. 3 
STUDIES ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE 
GENUS NOVOMESSOR 
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) 
By Wm. S. Creighton 
Department of Biology, City College, New York. 
During recent years the writer has taken specimens of 
Novomessor albisetosus or N. cockerelli at seventy-three 
stations 1 . As more than half of these were in northern 
Mexico it seems advisable to review the distribution of 
both species. When W. M. Wheeler and the writer mono- 
graphed the genus Novomessor in 1934 (1) there were no 
Mexican records for albisetosus and only four for cock- 
erelli. In the intervening twenty years this situation has 
changed scarcely at all. There are still no published records 
for albisetosus from Mexico and only one additional one 
for cockerelli. This last is, however, a most interesting 
record. In 1954 (2) Kannowski, in his important account 
of the habits of N. manni, noted that Cantrall has recently 
taken specimens of cockerelli at Rincon de Romos (6100') 
in the state of Aguascalientes. Cantrall’s record estab- 
lishes the fact that the range of cockerelli extends into 
the tropics, but it should be clear that, because of the 
lack of published data, the distribution of albisetosus and 
cockerelli in northern Mexico has remained largely con- 
jectural. 
On the following pages I have presented not only records 
from Mexico but also a number from the United States. 
This is necessary to demonstrate the significant difference 
1 Field work done on a Guggenheim Fellowship. 
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