Formica ruficeps

8. Formica ruficeps.

F. nigra; capite thoraceque antice ferrugineis. Worker. Length 4 lines. Head ferruginous, smooth, shining, and much wider than the thorax; the mandibles and scape black, the apex of the former obscurely ferruginous; the flagellum pale rufotestaceous. Thorax black, more or less ferruginous anteriorly, much compressed towards the metathorax; the tips of the joints of the legs ferruginous, as well as the tarsi. Abdomen black, smooth and shining; the scale ovate, acuminate at its apex above; the legs and apex of the abdomen with a scattered short pale pubescence.

Worker minor, about one-third smaller; only differs otherwise in having the mandibles ferruginous.

Hab. Borneo (Sarawak).

This species bears a strong resemblance to the F. erratica of Europe.