W. M. Mann.
Notes on Cuban Ants.
Psyche 31:19-23, 1924.

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Notes on Cuban Ants
NOTES ON CUBAN ANTS.
WM. M. MANN.
Bureau of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture. In a small collection of ants from Cuba sent by Mr. S. C. Bruner, of the experimental station at Santiago de las Vegas, and collected by him and Mr. C'. H. Ballou, are two undescribed species of the genus Macromischa. This increases the number of known Cuban species to sixteen; and I think it probable that future collectors will find still more of these int,eresting ants, the species of which appear to be very local in distribution and difficult to find.
In addition to the descriptions of these I have listed for distributional data several other species of interest. Macromischa (Macromischa) bruneri, new species. Worker. Length 2.75 mm.
Head a little longer than broad, as broad in front as behind, with slightly convex sides, broadly rounded corners and nearly straight occipital border.
Clypeus convex, obtusely carinate at
middle, straight at anterior border.
Antenna1 scapes nearly
attaining occipital corners; funicular joints 3-8 transverse, club rather strong. Thorax rather robust, without sutures above; sides of prothorax evenly rounded. Epinotal spines nearly approximate at base, not very acuminate, about as long as the epinotal declivity.
Petiolar peduncle slender, about as long as the node, which is longer than high, rounded above, and seen from above twice as long as broad. Postpetiole twice as broad as petiole, as long as broad and only slightly broader behind than in front. Femora slender basally, swollen at middle and narrowed apically, with the flexor border rather strongly con- cave. Tibise strongly incrassate.
Moderately shining.
Mandibles sparsely striate and with
several coarse punctures. Head, thorax and epinotum densely punctate and subreticulately striate, the latter strongest on Ps~cht 31:19-23 (1924). hup Wpsycht rinclub org/11/31-011 html



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20 Psyche [~ebruar~
pronotum; petiolar pedicel subtly punctate, nodes of petiole and postpetiole smooth above, obliquely striate at sides. Gaster and appendages finely punctate.
Pilosity pale yellow, fine and erect, rather sparse on head, body and appendages.
Brownish red, the gaster darker and the legs lighter than t,he rest.
Sierra Maestra, July, 1902, Alt. 4500-5000 ft. Type. Cat. No. 26497 U. S. N. M.
Described from four workers.
M. bruneri is most closely related to M. affinis Mann, and like it, superficially resembles a Tetramorium. It differs from
affinis in its smaller size, the much shorter epinotal spines (in affinis these are fully as long as the petiolar pedicel), in the petiolar node rising less abruptly from the pedicel and in sculp- ture and coloration.
Macromischa (~acromischa) violacea, new species. Worker. Length 4.5 mm.
Head, excluding mandibles, one-sixth longer thaln broad, sides very slightly convex, posterior corners broadly rounded, border nearly straight. Mandibles with five rather strong teeth. Clypeus nearly flat, its anterior border straight at middle. Eyes large and convex, situated at middle of sides of head. Antenna1 scapes not quite attaining occipital corners; funicular joints 2-8 scarcely broader than long; club shorter than remainder of fnniculus. Thorax and epinotum very robust, as broad in front as behind and only feebly and narrowly constricted at sides be- tween pro- and mesothorax; no sutures discernible. Epinotal spines moderately thick, slightly curved, shorter than their dis- tance apart at base. Peduncle of petiole nearly twice as long as the node, which rises from it abruptly and, in profile, is higher than long, with nearly straight anterior and posterior surfaces and slightly convex dorsum, and from above transversely suboval. Postpetiole campanulate and broader than long. Femora and tibiae rather strongly incrassate.




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19241 Notes on Cuban Ants 21
Shining throughout. Mandibles coarsely striate. Head and thorax with fine, widely separated longitudinal wavy carinulae, discernible above only in certain lights, stronger on pleurae; head, body and appendages rather finely punctate and with erect, whitish hairs that are longer and stiffer on the legs. Color black, head and thorax with strong violaceous re- flections.
Sierra Maestra, July, 1922. Alt. 600-900 m. Cotypes. Cat. No. 26498 U. S. N. M.
Described from two workers.
This is a very distinct species, resembling M. scabripes Mann somewhat in form and in having the femora minutely tuber- culate, but differing strongly in sculpture and color and in its larger size and stouter thorax.
The violaceous reflection of the tegument is unusually strong, even for a Macromischa.
Macromischa (Macromischa) affinis Mann
Sierra Maestra, July, 1923. Alt. 3000-3500 ft. A single worker in the collect'ion is considerably darker than those in the type series, with the head and t,horax dark, reddish brown and only the bases of the femora pale, otherwise agreeing exactly.
Macromischa (Croesomyrmex) wheeleri Mann Vinales, April
Three workers.
Macromischa (Croesomyrmex) poeyi Wheeler Worker. Length 5.5 mm. (Fig. 1.)
Head longer than broad, strongly narrowed from behind eyes to occipital border which has an elevated margin. Clypeus convex, carinate at middle, shallowly concave at middle of anterior border. Antennae very slender, their scapes surpassing occipital corners by one-third of their length; first funicular



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22 Psyche [February
joint shorter t>han the second and third together, second joint about two and one-half times as long as broad, remaining joints gradually increasing in length toward apex, club long and slender. Prothorax with a transverse, subquadrate "neck"; sides of mesothorax angulately expanded behind the middle. Epinotum unarmed, its base three times as long as broad and nearly four times as long as the declivity; in profile shallowly concave. Petiole very long and slender, its node low and rounded above Fig. 1. Macromischa Ci'momyrnzex fioeyi Wheeler. Worker. and a little more than half as long as pedicel; from above, the node is scarcely thicker than the pedicel, about four times as long as broad and with straight sides. Postpetiole elongate, campanulate. Legs long and very slender, except the apical three-eighths of femora which are very strongly swollen. Thorax and epinotum shining, wit>h moderately strong and irregular rugs which are transverse on dorsum, subconcentric on mesonotal and longitudinal on epinotal pleurae; head, petiole, gaster and appendages more shining, and finely punctate. Stiff, blunt, erect, brownish hairs, abundant on head and body; finer and pointed on legs; erect hairs lacking on antennae which bear fine and shorter semirecumbent hairs. Thorax, epinotum and basal portion of femora reddish brown, t<he remainder black.
Vinales, April.




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19241 Notes on Cuban Ants 23
Described from one worker.
The species was described
from a specimen in the Gundlach collection in Havana under a sealed glass and Wheeler's description differs only in the shape of the postpetiole, described as broad as long, and in the sculp- ture of the thorax, described as finely and densely punctate, points which probably could not be made out with a hand lens at some distance from the specimen.
In addition to the unusual structure of the femora, the elongate head, narrowed behind, resembling that of some of the Aphsenogasters, is distinctive.
Myrmelachista rogeri Ern. Andre.
Sierra Maestra, Alt. 3000-3500 ft. July. Prenolepis gib berosa Roger.
Sierra Maestra, July. Alt. 2900-3500 ft. This is evidently widely distributed in the higher, wooded portions of Cuba.
Camponotus (Myrmeurynot a) gilviventris Roger. Nagua, Oriente, July.
Colobopsis (Manniella) sphaericus Roger var. sphaeralis Roger.
Sierra Maestra, Alt. 3000-3500 ft. July.



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