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Psyche 10:93-110, 1903.

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PSYCHE
A JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY
[Established in 18741
Vol. 10, No. 323
CONTENTS
A DBCAD OF TEXAN FOKMICIDAE.- William Morion Wheeler . . . , . 93 A NEW GEXUS AND FOUR NEW SPECIES OF ASILIDAE.-- Charles W. JoA~soa . . in NEWORTIIOPTERAI.'ROM~~EVADA.-A~~~~~P.M~~~~ . . . . . . * "5 Lire HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN GEOMETRIDAE. XLI. - Hav~ison G. Dyw . 116 STUDIES FOR S'~UUENTS. 111. ELEMENTARY STUDIES IN INSECT HISTOLOGY.- VeruonLKellqg . . . . . . . . . . . . . -iiS THE HEMIPTERA DESCRIBED BY PHILIP REESE UIILER. 111. - Samuel Hens&aw . 122 PUBLISHED BY THE
CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U. S. A.




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PSYCHS.
A DECAD Of TEXAN FORMICIDAE.'
BY WILLIAM MORTON WHEELER, AUSTIN, TEX.
1Vorke1: Length 1.75-2 mm.
Mandibles with a very prominent basal tooth. Head, including mandibles, fully twice as long- as broad, occipital border slightly concave, posterior angles rather sharp, sides siibpar- allel. Eyes completely absent. Antenna! scape thick, not reaching half way lo the posterior angle of the head, funiculus robust,
first joint nearly as long as the second and third together, joints 2-6 distinctly broader than long; joints 7-9 about as
wide as long. Thorax flattened dor-
sally, laterally compressed, with dis-
tinct mesoepinotal constric~ion ; basal
surface of epinotum flattened, longer
than the declivity, with which it forms
a rounded, obtuse angle. Petiole and
postpetiole, whether seen from above
or in profile, of similar size and form; each furni~hcd with an anterior yen-
,
tsal tooth ; petiole distinctly longer
than the postpetiole, longer than
broad, subelliptical from above ; post-
petiole not longer than broad, some-
what wider behind than in front.
Caster elongate elliptical, distinctly
flattened dorso-ventrnlly, Legs short
and robust. Claws simple.
Smooth and shining, especially
the head and thoracic dorsum; sides
of neck, ITILSO- and mctaplc~~rac, to-
gether with the ventral surfaces of the
and postpetiole, distinctly and
Ik. I. a, Eciton p.uxillum, sp. WG-. Worker; h, head of same; c, Ileal of E. ~ovwwfatw;~ Emwy; d, matxlihle of same, evenly reticulate. Mandibles, head
and thorax with coarse but scattered piligerous p~mctiires. lCont&ihlio~m 110m the Zoiilogicdl Laboratory of the Univcmity of 'Lexas. No, dq.




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94
PSYCHE [June.
Body and appendages covered with sparse and rather long, suberect, yellow hairs. Reddish yellow throughout except the mandibles, cljpeus, and anterior border of the head which are more brownish.
Described from nine specimens taken at Austin, Tex., May 25, 1901 ; the only occasion on which I have seen this species. The insects were moving along
under a stone in a small troop, all the members of which were very nearly of the same diminutive size. The species is evidently hypogaeic in its habits like E. coecz~m, nitens, co~zmz~tatum, elc.
It may be distinguished from all our North American Ecitons by its very small size, and from the species above mentioned by its very long, narrow head and the prominent, rather acute basal tooth of the mandibles. Mexican specimens which I assign to E. cornmutaturn Emery have the tooth broad and blunt and the head is fully two thirds as broad as long.
2. PONERA INEXORATA, sp. nov.
WOYA~Y. Length z.'Jj-T,.Zs mm.
Mandibles long and flattened, with concavely sinuate lateral borders and about a dozen teeth, which are small and indistinct towards the base, but longer and more pointed towards the tip of the blade. Head distinctly longer than broad with concave occipital margin and subparallel sides. Clypeus broadly rounded in front, convex in the middle. Antennae rather slender, scape reaching to the posterior angle of the head, joints 2-,$ of the funiculns fully as long as broad, the remaining joints longer than broad. Eyes very small, with at most 3-4 ommatidia in their longest diameter and situated about one fourth the distance from the anterior to the posterior border of the head. Thorax with very distinct promeso-notal and meso- epinotal sutures; pronotum broader than the succeeding tho- racic segments, rounded, with rather sloping anterior angles ; niesonotnm convex; epinotum laterally compressed, its basal portion in profile horizontal and nearly straight, its declivity flattened, with rounded sides, not carinate. Petiole decidedly narrower than the first srastric segment. its anterior surface w
- -
flattened dorsoventrally but distinctly convex from side to side; FIG. a. Ponwa. tnexoda, sp, nw.
Head of worker.
posterior surface flat in both directions, so that the segment when seen from above is somewhat, semi-circular; seen from behind the border of the node is nearly circular in outline. Gaster of the usual form.
Legs
moderately stout, each tibia with a pair of spurs, one of which is pectinated. Surface of the body, especially the dorsal surface of the head, thorax, and petiole, shining. Mandibles with coarse, scattered, piligerous punctures. Head covered rather densely but not
confluently with coarse piligerons punctures or small foveolae. Pronotnm with similar but
smaller and sparser punctures;
neck and mesonotum finely corrugated above; meso- and



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19031
WHEELER : - TEXAN FORMICIDAE
95
metaplenrae similarly but more coarsely sculptured, subopaque. Petiole and gasier covered
with piligerous punctures like those on the pronotum. Whole body clothed with pale yellow, reclinate or appressed hairs, among which there are longer, more scattered, snberect hairs, especially on the thorax and abdomen. Yellowish ferruginous throughout, mandibles, antennae, and legs somewhat paler. Epinotum, mesopleurae, and posterior gastric segments sometimes more reddish or brown- ish. Teeth of mandibles and anterior border of clypeus blackish. Female (deulated). Length 3.25 mm,
Very much like the worker in form and coloration. Each ocellus with a small black
spot at its margin.
Head distinctly more opaque than in the worker, owing to a denser aggregation of the piligerous fovcolac; the node is thinner antero-posteriorly and its ante- rior surface is very flat or even slightly concave from side to side. Alar insertions black.
Described from two females and numerous workers taken at Austin, San Angelo, and Fort Davis. The species is not common. It occurs in colonies not
exceeding a dozen individuals and usually much smaller. I have found it only on
dry hill-slopes under rather small stones (limestone in central Texas, volcanic rock in the Trans-Pecos).
P. inexoyata is closely related to P. dislinguenda. Emery of Venezuela, Brazil, and Paraguay, but is smaller and yellowish ferruginous in color instead of fuscous. 3. PHEIDOLE TITANIS, sp. nov.
Soldier. Length 7.25-8 mm.
Head proportionally small, hardly larger than the gaster, a little longer than broad, excluding the mandibles, subcordate, somewhat broader behind than in front, with prominent rounded posterior corners ; posterior border deeply excised in the middle. A deep groove extendsfrom this excision to the frontal area. Mandibles robust, convex, with flattened, edentu- ous, and nearly straight blades which terminate in two prominent apical teeth. Clypeus short, its anterior border deeply excised in the middle, feebly and sinuately concave on either side; median surface rather flat and depressed. Fron- tal area triangular, as long- as wide. Frontal crinae long. diverging, continued hackward F,~;, 3. phtiidotei^m;s, *,. ,.ov. 1jerd ,,i snidse,. nearly to the middle of the head. Antennae very sniall, scape distinctly flattened but hardly incrassated. reaching only to a little beyond the posterior orbit ; fuuiculus slender, its joints all decidedly longer than broad, club very short and indistinctly marked off from the remainder of the funiculus. Eyes moderate,
round, at about one third the distance from the anterior to the posterior border of the head.



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96 PSYCHE [June.
Thorax robust; pronotal angles obtusely rounded; mesoEpinota1 constriction rather deep; epinotal declivity concave; spines robust, pointed, longer than broad at the base and farther apart than long; slightly curved downwards at their tips. Petiole pedunculate, seen from above constricted near the middle; in profile the dorsal surface is concave in front, convex on the anterior surface of the node, posterior declivity straight and abrupt ; upper margin of node distinctly concave in the middle when seen from behind. Postpetiole transversely elliptical from above, nearly twice as broad as long and fully twice as broad as the petiole, with distinct but not very prominent lateral angles near the middle ; in profile the dorsal surface is very convex, the ventral surface much more flattened. Gaster elongate elliptical, rather large. Legs long, femora conspicuously incrassated in the middle, the tibiae towards their distal ends.
Mandibles smooth and shining, with a few scattered piligerous punctures and some pronounced striae on the outer biisal margin. Clypeiis shining in the middle, more opaque at the sides which are coarsely longitudinally rugose. There is a prominent median ruga. Frontal area shining, with a median carinula. Head subopaquc covered with rather coarse, parallel, longitudinal rugac over the anterior three quarters, posterior fourth smooth and shining, with a few scattered and shallow fovcolae. Spaces between the rngae filled with minor reticulations which extend back somewhat beyond the ends of the main rugae on to the smooth occipital surface. Thorax subopaque, pro- and mesonotum more shining, pronotum and sides of mesonotum with several sharp transverse rngae. Mesopleurae and whole epinotum coarsely punctate rngulose. Petiole and postpetiole opaque, punctate rugulose throughout. Gaster hardly shining, as its surface is finely reticulate and irregularly and rather densely punctate ; only the basal portions of the segments where they are over- lapped by preceding segments when the gaster is not distended, arc smooth and shining. Antennae and legs smooth and shining, scape, tibiae, and femora with scattered piligernus punctures.
Whole insect covered with rather long, coarse, yellow hairs, which are erect or suberect on the body. antenna1 scapc, and legs, but shorter and less conspicuous on the f~iniculus and tarsi.
Rich ferruginous red, thorax and petiole somewhat darker, edges of mandibular blades, anterior border of clypens, epinotal spines and gasier black, the posterior edges of the gastric segments yellowish, the basal half of the first gastric segment sometimes ferruginous. Worker. Length 4-4.5 mm.
Head, exclnding the mandibles, as broad as long; posterior angles rounded. findibles
with two prominent apical teeth and the remainder of thcir blades finely crenulate. Clypeus
short, its anterior border straight, faintly and sinuately excised in the middle, posterior
median surface strongly convex. Frontal area triangular, rather indistinct. Antennae slender, scape slightly thickened distally, extending beyond the posterior corner of the head to a distance about one third of its length; funiculus with all its joints distinctly longer than broad, joints 2-7 subequal, fully twice as long as broad; club appearing+-jointed as the 8111 joint forms a transition between the basal and terminal joints. Thorax much like that of the soldier, but with less robust and narrower prothorax ; epinotal spines more slender, straight and pointed. Petiole slcndcr, more than twice as long as hroad, node rounded, hardly transverse. Postpetiole as long as broad, campanulate, nearly twice as broad as the petiole. Gaster and legs 'of the usual shape. Smooth and shining ; mandibles, head, and gaster with sparse piligerons pm-ictures; head in front of eyes longitudinally rugose as is also the region between and next to the



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'9031 WHEELER: - TEXAN FORM1CIDAE 97
frontal carinae.
Mesopleurae, epinotum, ventral and lateral surfaces of the petiole and postpetiole subopaque, reticulate punctate. Pilosity similar to that of the soldier but less abundant. Black or very dark reddish brown.
Mandibles, anterior portion of head, pro- and mesopleurae reddish yellow.
Antennae and legs reddish yellow, scape and femora darker. Described from numerous specimens taken in the Paisano Pass, Brewster County, by myself, and in the Chisos Mts. by Judge 0. W. Williams. The single
nest found in the Paisano Pass was between huge immovable boulders embedded in the soil, so that I could secure only the workers, but Judge Williams obtained great numbers both of the soldiers and workers from a large nest under a stone near the foot of the Chisos.
Ph. titanis differs from all the other species of PEEIDOLE known to occur in the United States in its great size. It belongs to the group of species comprising Ph. hyatti Emery and Ph. crassicornis Emery. The soldier of Ph. titanis resembles the soldiers of both of these species in the relatively small size and sculpturing of the head, and the flattened antennal scape, but differs in the peculiar, short, and indistinct antennal club and the deep median excision of the anterior clypeal border. 4. PHEIDOLE TEXANA, sp. nov.
Soldier. Length 4-5 mm.
Head rather small, but larger than the gaster, a little longer than broad, excluding the mandibles, cordiform, distinctly broader behind than in front, with deeply excised posterior border, rounded posterior angles, and a rather broad median furrow extending from the frontal area to the occiput. Frontal area triangular, about as broad as long. Clypeus short, its anterior border flattened and rather deeply notched in the middle. Frontal carinae short, prominent. Eyes moderate, "well in front of the middle of the sides of the head. Mandi- bles large, convex with flattened blades, which are finely denticulate basally, with two prominent terminal teeth. Antenna1 scape broadened and flattened, distinctly con- cave on its anterior surface, hardly reaching to half the distance between the eye and the posterior corner of the head, funiculus with all its joints longer than broad, the last three joints forming a well-developed club. Thorax not very robust, pronotal angles rounded, pronotum rather FIG 4. Pheidole fexana, sp. no". Head
flattened above; mesonotum angular, projecting upward, of
concave in the middle when seen from behind; separated by a distinct suture from the pronolum and by a more distinct constriction from the epino- turn. The latter has its basal surface and declivity both in the same plane, gradually slop- ng backwards and distinctly concave; spines well developed, blunt, longer than broad at



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98
PSYCHE [June
thcir bases and much farther apart than loug, directed upwards, backwards, and outwards. Petiole in profile with long concave ascending nodal surface and convex ventral surface; the node is acute, transverse, with median emargination and short, concave posterior declivity; seen from above the petiole is small, not more than one and a half times as long as broad, broader behind than in front, constricted in the middle, with rather acute posterior angles. Postpetiole three times as broad as the petiole and more than twice as broad as long, with a small, acute projection in the middle on either side; in profile the dorsal surface is evenly convex and longer than the more uneven ventral surface. Gaster rather large, elliptical, flattened on its dorsal surface. Legs of moderate length and of the usual conformation.
Mandibles shining-, indistinctly reticulate, covered with large piligerous punctures. Clypeus shining in the middle, faintly reticulate like the mandibles, on either side with a few coarse longitudinal rugae. Frontal area impressed, shining, with a few longitudinal rugae on either side. Head opaque throughout, covered with coarse reticulate rugae enclos- ing more finely reticulateiuterrugal spaces; the main rugae with distinctly longitudinal trend only on the front and cheeks. Cephalic furrow crossed by numerous transverse rugae especially towards the occipital border. Antenna1 scape shining, fincly reticulate. Thorax, petiole, and postpetiole opaque like the head, but mow finely reticulate rugose; only the dor- sal surfaces are roughened, the pro- and meso~~ot~irn being crossed by afew coarse and irreg ular transverse rugae. Postpetiole with about eight shallow longitudinal impressions on its dorsal surface. Gaster and legs shining, their surfaces finely and regularly reticulate. Body and appendages invested with rather long, more or less erect, tawny hairs. Rich ferruginous red throughout; legs and antennae but little paler than the body; gas- ter somewhat infuscated posteriorly, anteriorly pellucid and in man\- specimens appearing as if filled with a wine-red fluid so that this region has a more brilliant color than the remainder of the body.
Worker. Length 2.5-3. mm.
Head but little longer than broad, its posterior border rather straight but not concave. Mandibles rather slender, 8-toothed, the first, second, and fourth teeth from the apex being longer than the others. Clypeus sinuately ernarginate in the middle, with a 'median and on either side two lateral longitudinal ridges or carinulae. Frontal area triangular, as long as broad, with a median longitudinal ridge. Anteunal scapes not flattened, distinctly enlarged at their distal ends; exceeding the posterior angles of the head by somewhat more than twice thcir transverse diameter. PI-onotum rounded above and on the sides, spheroidal ; mesonotu~n projecting upwards as a transverse ridge which is not concave in the middle when seen from behind, separated by distinct constrictions from the pro- and epinotum. The latter shaped like that of the soldier. Petiole slender, fully twice as long as broad, in other respects like the corresponding segment of the. soldier. Postpetiole nearly three times as broad as the petiole, hardly twice as broad a& long, its sides and dorsal surface rounded, thc angles of the former being very indistinct. Sculpti-11-e like that of the soldicr but feebler, especially on the head. Pilosity and color,
too, as in the soldicr, except that there is a large black spot on the vertex in many speci- inens.
Described from numerous soldiers and workers. These were taken from four nests, the only ones I have seen during as many years. They were all situated in




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19031 WHEELER :- TEXAN FORMCIDAE 99
different parts of Travis County, Texas, in open, sunny grass-lands. Each nest was surmounted by a regular moundlet about four inches in diameter and consist- ing of coarse pellets of earth. The ants are very pugnacious but their stings are feebly developed.
Ph. texmu, like the preceding species, belongs to the group comprising Ph. hyatt' and Pit. trassicornis, on account of the flattening of the antennal scape in the soldier, the relatively small head, etc. Ph. texana, however, is readily distinguished by the coarse reticulation covering the whole head and leaving no polished poste- rior angles, and by the antennal scape which is intermediate in length between that of Ph. hyatti and Ph. crassicornis.
5. MACROMISCHA SUBDITIVA, sp. nov.
Worker, Length 2-2.5 mm.
Head somewhat longer than broad, rounded at the posterior angles and convex above. Mandibles rather small, with three acute apical and three much smaller basal teeth. Cly-
peus short, broadly rounded in front, convex in the middle, with a prominent median carina running its full length and continued over the frontal area. Frontal area large, triangular, longer than broad. Antennae long, 12-jointed; scape extending beyond the posterior corner of the head to a distance equal to twice its breadth; first funicular joint nearly as long as the three succeeding joints together, joints 2-8 about as long as broad, two penultimate joints sub- equal, together as long as the terminal joint. Thorax short and thick-set, dorsum in profile convex, evenly rounded : pi-othorax
with broadly rounded angles, pro-
mesonotal suture very faintly, meso-
Epinotal suture somewhat more dis-
tinctly indicated. Epinotuin armed
with two stout, spines, which are very
close together at their bases but
diverge strongly outward, upward,
and backward; epinotal declivity con-
cave. Petiole long, with a conspicn-
onsly elongated peduncle which passes
FIG. 5. Macromischa yiibditiva, sp. DOV. Worker. very abruptly into the transverse
node; the tatter is much compressed anter~-~o&teriorl~ when seen in profile, the anterior and posterior surfaces being flattened and perpendicular, the summit of the node narrow and rounded; when seen from behind, the edge of the node is horizontal and nearly straight. There is a small but distinct tooth on the ventral surface of the petiole near its anterior end. Postpetiole from above but little wider than the node of the petiole, fully twice as broad as long, rounded oblong; in profile it is nodiform, very convex dorsally, in both views showing a decided constriction at its insertion into the gaslei-. Gaster of the usual shape, with it
long, powerful sting. Legs of the usual shape, with the femora conspicuously incrassated in the middle.
There are no spurs on the middle and hind tibiae.



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TOO PSYCHE [June
Head, including the mandibles and clypeus, subopaque, sharply longitudinally rugose; the rugae connected by subsidiary reticulate rugae on the base of the rnandibles,cheeks, and sides of the head.
Ciyeus and frontal area more shining, the former -with few rugae, especially near the middle.
Thoracic dorsum shining, pleurae and epinotnm subopaque. Whole surface of thorax reticulate rugose, regularly in the opaque regions, more irregularly and more longitudinally on the shining dorsal surface. Petiole and postpetiole shining above, reticulate and subopaque on the ventral and lateral surfaces. Gaster very smooth and shining. Legs more opaque, finely but distinctly reticulate. Head, thorax, and abdomen beset with sparse, erect, obtuse, silvery white hairs; antennae and legs with minute, appressed, pointed hairs of the same color. Body black or, in immature specimens, very dark brown ; niandibles, antennae, legs and epinotal spines, tip of gaster, and sting yellow, scape and club of antennae- bases of epi- natal, spines, and greater portion of femora and tibiae infnscated. A rare species described from a few specimens taken along Walnut Creek, near Austin (May 12, 1901): and at New Braunfels (June 3, 1901). In the former
locality they were found walking on the leaves of bushes, in the latter on a dead limb lying on the ground. I did not succeed in finding the nest which is probably small and not very populou~.~
This is the first species of MACROMISCHA to be described from the United States, and I am not altogether sure that it is to be assigned to this neotropical genus. It certainly resembles some of our species of LEPTOTHORAX with I 2-jointed antennae, like L. obturator Wheeler. Emery maintains that MACROMISCHA differs from the other
myrmicine genera in the following characters: I. the petiole has a long peduncle ; 2. the postpetiole is campanulate and attached by its whole breadth to the first gastric segment; 3. the thoracic dorsum is continuous, i. e., without sutures or constrictions; and 4. there are no spurs on the middle and hind tibiae. M suli- ditiva does not present the second and third of these characters, but it certainly differs from our species of LEPTOTHORAX in the remarkable shape of the petiole. Worker. Length 3-3.7.5 inna.
Mandibles long, pointed, 7-8 toothed.
Clypeus short, with a deep excision in the mid- dle of its anterior border. Head with pointed posterior angles, deeply excised occipital margin and rather straight, subparallel sides. Frontal carinae large, suboblong, conspic- uously concave on their upper surfaces, and continued back to the posterior angles of the head as prominent crenated ridges, on either side hounding a marked concavity for the recep- 1 Since the above was written
I
have succeeded in findine a single nest of M subdttiva. This was a small cell excavated in the bark of a luge willow (Salk niyrft) near Austin, The cell contained about twenty workers and resen- bled in every way the nests of our corticolous species of LE~TW~HORAX.



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19031
WHKELER : - TEXAN FORAfICIDAE
101
tion of the antennal scape whenfolded back. Just behind the posterior angle of the head there is a prominent projection.
Antenna1 scape robust, hardly extending beyond the poste- rior corner of the head; funicnlus long, its joints all distinctly longer than broad. Pro-
and mesonotum high, arched dorsally above the epinotum which is separated by a deep con- striction from the inesonoinm and has its basal surface of aboul the same length as its abrupt and somewhat concave declivity.
Sides of mesonotum carinate.
The thorax is armed with
the following prominent spines and protuberances: prouotum with two spines on either side and a double tubercle in the mid-dorsal line : ~nesonotum with a large blunt tubercle at either