Search

Certain species of COCCIDAE that excrete honeydew and are attended by ants or enclosed in their nests are quite prevalent on tea bushes and seed trees in the plains of Assam and West Bengal but those which are not attended by ants are kept under considerable check by the activities of their natural enemies. In Darjeeling, where the natural enemies are fewer, a number of species occur abundantly and are often responsible for serious damage to tea.From the studies of the relative population of the ant, Crematogaster dohrni Mayr and the Coccid, Saissetia formicarii (Green), occurring on tea bushes it is doubtful if more than a small portion of the food requirement of the vast ant population in the nests which contain sexual forms could be met from the honeydew excreted by the small number of Coccids enclosed therein. The major part of food must, therefore, come from other sources. Insects attacking or visiting the tea bushes and tea seed trees or even those found on the ground appear to constitute the major part of the food of the ants, C. dohrni and Oecophylla smaragdina (F.).Several factors are responsible for the decrease in the population or disappearance of the Coccids in the absence of attendant ants. In the plains, Eriochiton theae Green, Coccus hesperidum L. and S. formicarii entirely disappear in the absence of attendant ants either due to the activities of their natural enemies or by contamination with honeydew accumulation or both. Parasitism may be slightly higher in ant-free colonies, but no estimation was possible since, in the absence of ants, the Coccids are quickly destroyed by predators.The ants do not protect the Coccids from Hymenopterous parasites; but their active movements hinder the parasites in their efforts to oviposit, and this leads to a reduction in the rate of parasitisation.In the presence of the ants, O. smaragdina and Crematogaster dohrni, predators are rare; they are destroyed as are any other insects or any foreign bodies that happen to be near their nests, whether they constitute food or not. The larvae of predators which have a protective covering or which resemble Coccids, if they happen to have gained access to the Coccid colonies, are not attacked by the ants, because they are not recognised as different from the Coceids.O. smaragdina does not normally transport Coccids, though young nymphs of E. theae and Coccus hesperidum may be aided in their dispersal, but Crematogaster dohrni and Crematogaster sp. are primarily responsible for the dispersal of S. formicarii and this takes place when an occasion arises to remove the Coccid to more favourable sites.O. smaragdina does not destroy the nymphs and sedentary form of Coccus hesperidum for food, but sedentary forms which are unable to establish themselves on transfer from withered leaves to a new nest are eaten.With the control of the attendant ants, the honeydew-producing Coccids disappear or at least they become rare. Conversely, where the Coccids are controlled, the ants automatically disappear.

An examination was made of the movements of Pscudococcus njalensis Laing, the dominant vector of swollen-shoot disease, on cacao in Ghana. The mobile population is composed almost entirely of first-instar nymphs (92%). Movement is initiated at about 23·5°C. and activity becomes more pronounced at higher temperatures. Movement is maximal during mid-afternoon when many hundreds of insects become mobile on heavily infested trees. The density of mobile mealybugs increases from the base of the trunk and reaches a maximum at a few feet below the top of the canopy. Under experimental conditions, nymphs walked at least 28 ft. in search of favourable feeding sites and their dispersion increased proportionately with the number of canopy bridges. On cacao, adults are occasionally carried by the ant, Crematogaster striatula, Emery.Using insects labelled with radioactive phosphorus, the assumption was confirmed that P. njalensis is capable of walking from tree to tree via the canopies of farmers' cacao. In a plantation of 8-year-old Amelonado cacao, 40 per cent, of the branches were in contact at 4-ft. spacing and about 20 per cent, at spacings between 5 and 7½ ft. No branches were in contact where the trees were spaced more than 12 ft. apart. At the closest spacing, the ratio between the number of mobile mealybugs that reached adjacent contact trees and those that did not was about 9:100, this ratio being reduced to 1 or 2:100 amongst trees growing 5 to 7½ ft. apart.The significance of the movement of mealybugs in the canopy in relation to virus spread is emphasised. Methods of preventing vector dispersal by pruning, wide spacing and interplanting with a secondary tree crop are discussed. The importance of a closed canopy in preventing attack on the trees by Miridae is stressed.

1. 1. The alarm pheromones of species in five subgenera of Crematogaster from diverse parts of the world were investigated. The com- pounds 3-octanone, 3-octanol, 6-methyl-3-octanone, 6-methyl-3-octanol and 3-nonanone were found to be almost universally present in the Crematogaster spp. 2. 2. 2-Heptanone was identified in one species, and a number of species in the subgenus Atopogyne were found to produce trans-2-hexenal and trans- 2-hexenol in addition to the compounds listed above. 3. 3. The proportions in which these compounds are mixed in order to obtain an individual alarm pheromone, seem to supply a certain degree of subgeneric and specific specificity to the mandibular gland secretions. The composition of the alarm pheromone mixture was found to be remarkably constant throughout the range of the genus.

Such ants as Crematogaster laboriosa SMITH and Iridomyrmex itoi FOREL often prey on the larvae of D.spectabilis which have recently hatched from the egg mass. Ants attack the larva which have just made its. emergence hole as well as killing the larva within the egg.The evidence of such predatism by ants was shown in the hatching egg mass of D.spectabilis, and in many eggs within an egg mass attacked by ants each egg-shell was untouched except for a part of the emergence hole of the larva (Fig.1, A). On the other hand, in the egg mass that was unattacked by ants, a greater part of each egg-shell was eaten by a newly hatched larva (Fig. 1, B).A preliminary survey was done at a plot in a Japanese black pine forest on the sea coast near Fukuoka City in July, 1962. From the data obtained (Table 1) it was shown that the percentage of predatism by ants was 16.7%, which was about twice as much as the percentage of parasitism by egg parasites (Trichogramma dendrolimi MATS. and others). The same data indicate that the ants tend to attack greater numbers of hatching larvae within an egg mass, while parasitic wasps do to parasitize smaller numbers of eggs within an egg mass regardless of the size of the egg mass (Fig.2). It is believed that such difference between predatism by ants and parasitism by egg parasites may arise from the aggregating behavior of ants and the synchronized hatching of eggs within the egg mass of D. spectabilis.T.dendrolimi emerging from the host egg was also attacked by C. laboriosa.

The most important species of Pseudoeoccid transmitting the swollen-shoot virus disease in the Gold Coast is Pseudococcus njalensis Laing. It is almost always attended by ants of the genus Crematogaster. These ants usually build their nests in the cavities and galleries that have already been excavated by wood-boring insects in the dead branches of cacao trees. The only apparent advantage of this association to the ants is to imbibe the honeydew secreted from the anal orifice of the mealybugs; if this is allowed to accumulate it becomes a medium for bacteria and fungi which seems to kill the mealybugs eventually.Attempts were made to break the link between the mealybugs and ants by spraying six cacao trees, not in contact with each other or any other trees, each with 3·5 litres of 0·2 per cent. DDT emulsion, twice at two-week intervals. All dead branches containing nests of ants were cut out, and a band of grease painted, on the trunk, one foot above the soil level to prevent the ants climbing up. Four weeks after the first application of spray, the population of mealybugs was brought down to 1·2 per cent, of its size before treatment. Unfortunately locating the ant nests, especially in the crevices and under the bark, is very difficult. Experiments were therefore carried out in which the trees were sprayed without previously eliminating all the sources of ants. The results were unsatisfactory, the size of the mealybug population, compared with that before treatment, after four, six and eight weeks was 16·9, 39·4 and 92·3 per cent., respectively, in the case of 0·2 per cent. DDT emulsion, and 11·6, 64·3 and 58·8 per cent., respectively, in the case of a treatment consisting of 3·5 litres per tree of a mixture of 0·2 per cent. DDT and 0·02 per cent, parathion active material. Cutting off the dead branches containing ant nests, followed by either painting the cut end of the dead branches with DDT (16·7 per cent, emulsion) or painting the trunk with a band of the same emulsion also gave poor results.The unsatisfactory results obtained by spraying are attributed to the fact i that only the ants that happen to be exposed are affected by the application of ithe insecticide; the immature stages inside the nests are not touched.The efficiency of dimefox when applied to the soil at 0·8 gm. active material per inch of tree girth was not increased when the ants had previously been partially eliminated.Treated cacao trees could not in practice be completely isolated from forest jtrees and climbers containing nests of Crematogaster ants and these provide a continuous source of large populations. It is, therefore, considered that the icomplete elimination of ants is not possible.It was also found that there is a relationship between the population of mealybugs and ants. Trees were usually free from mealybugs if no ants were found on them. The examination of isolated cacao trees with different sizes of dead branches containing nests of ants suggests that the number of mealybugs 38 in proportion to the size of the nests.

Although it has been known for a long time that ants secrete formic acid there are very few papers on the subject which are accompanied by analytical data. Poulton (1901), in a brief note, described an apparatus which could be used to collect the venom of ants. He stated that the percentage of anhydrous acid in the venom of Formica rufa fluctuated widely and that strong samples contained 60% to 70% of acid. Melander and Brues (1906) estimated formic acid by the reduction of mercuric chloride, but they found that simple titration with N/2 potassium hydroxide after steam distillation from weak ethyl alcohol gave more consistent results. Sexual forms never gave an acid reaction with the exception of Formica females. These authors made the extremely important observation that only the genera not having stings secrete acid. Crematogaster (Myrmicinae) they say “may prove to be an exception, but in this case most likely some other acid is present.” Forelins (Dolichoderinae) contained no acid but Pachycondyla (Pomerinae), although provided with a powerful sting, contained acid up to 1.5% of its body weight. Formica fusca var. gnava workers contained acid to the extent of from 0.5% to 12.68% of their body weight. Stumper (1922a), using Duclaux‗s method for estimating formic acid, found that it was the only free volatile acid present in the venom of Formica rufa and Cataglyphis bicolor . Later (1922b) the same author showed that the venom of Formica rufa contained from 21% to 72% ( i.e. , 5–17M) of formic acid. He also showed that temperature affected the rate of secretion and his results gave a Q10 of 2.16. He pointed out that the tissues of the poison sac and the ejaculatory duct resist the action of such a strong acid and that the mechanism of that resistance is quite unknown. Donisthorpe (1927) gave results obtained by Briscoe using Formica rufa workers which produced from 1.8 to 2.1 mg. of acid per ant. It will be seen, therefore, that the production of formic acid is limited to one subfamily of the Formicidae, with only two exceptions— Pachycondyla and Crematogaster . Both these are inconclusive since it was only shown that an acid was present and there is no evidence as to it being formic acid. Thus, so far as is known, the Formicidae alone among the ants secrete formic acid. This sub-family is characterized by the rudimentary nature of the sting and the marked development of a venom sac in which the formic acid is stored.

A method for the routine quantitative estimation of mealybug populations on cacao trees is described and the results obtained from 24 successive monthly samples are tabulated.The quantitative results obtained are of such variability that only gross differences in population density are shown as statistically significant.From a series of analyses based on the survey data the following conclusions have been reached with regard to P. njalensis, the most important mealybug vector of swollen shoot virus :—(a) The species is almost invariably attended in the field by Crematogasterine ants, the most important ant species building protective carton tents over the mealybug colonies.(b) Crematogaster density is closely correlated with mealybug density and the ants construct their carton tents in relation to the numbers of mealybugs to be protected. Some of the arboreal Crematogasterine groups investigated are shown to be consistently associated with higher mealybug populations, and to have a more advanced tent building habit, than others.(c) Tree to tree variation in mealybug density is shown to be largely dependent on the identity of the dominant ant group.(d) No direct correlation is apparent between mealybug density and incidence of swollen shoot though populations in areas devastated by virus are usually smaller than in areas in which virus is actively spreading.(e) The factors of importance in the natural control of P. njalensis populations have been discussed in some detail. It is clear that the species is maintained by ant protection at a density level considerably above that prevailing amongst closely related pseudococcid species which are not ant attended to the same extent. At this level of “ protected steady density ” balance is maintained partly by losses during crop harvesting, and partly by swollen shoot rendering the host plants unsuitable as feeding stations. It is concluded, however, that natural enemies must, in the last analysis, be responsible for maintaining balance.(f) Since the protected density of P. njalensis is a direct result of ant associations it follows that factors tending to control the attendant ant species will have a delayed effect on mealybug density. In this respect it is believed that Oecophylla, which is strongly negatively correlated with Crematogaster spp., is of importance. Any attempts that may in the future be made to control the mealybugs by killing the ants will have to be designed as specific against the Crematogasterini and non-lethal to Oecophylla and the other large predatory ants common on cacao.

The distribution of ants in a 2·25-ha cocoa plantation at the University of Ghana Agricultural Research Station, Kade, was recorded in December 1970. The 44 species of ants found could be grouped as dominant, co-dominant, sub-dominant and nondominant. Oecophylla longinoda (Latr.) and Macromischoides aculeatus (Mayr) were mutually exclusive as were six Crematogaster spp.; the latter were also exclusive of O. longinoda and M. aculeatus. Camponotus acvapimensis Mayr became dominant under insolated conditions, and Platythyrea frontalis Emery for reasons unknown. The distribution of these ant species in cocoa plantations resembles a three-dimensional mosaic which is preserved by their aggressiveness and by competition for food and nesting sites. It is suggested that this mosaic is due to vegetative succession.

The swollen-shoot virus of cacao is transmitted in the Gold Coast by mealybugs, of which Pseudococcus njalensis Laing is the most important, and these are tended by ants of the genus Crematogaster, which build carton tents over the colonies, thus affording them protection against contact insecticides. An account is given of an investigation which was carried out at Tafo, Gold Coast, between 1950 and 1953, of the possibility of controlling mealybugs and thus the spread of the virus, by the use of systemic insecticides. Dimefox, schradan, paraoxon and parathion were tested, although the two last are not strictly systemic in action.

The eversible glands of the willow-feeding larvae of C. scripta F. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) produce salicylaldehyde. (jas-chromatographic and coupled gas chromatograph-mass spectral analyses were used to determine that salicylaldehyde was the only defensive component detectable in the exudate of the larvae. All larval instars emitted the defensive secretion. The pupa benefits from the secretion by using the last larval integument with its saclike glandular reservoirs for attachment to the host plant. The teneral adult probably also gains protection from the salicylaldehyde which clings to its body after it emerges from the pupal skin. The larvae and pupae are both aposematically colored. Larvae and pupae exposed to 2 species of ants, the Argentine ant, Iridomyrmex humilis (Mayr), and Crematogaster clara (Mayr) were protected from attack by both species of ants.

Crematogaster scutellaris Oliv. 1 [[worker]], Algerie; 1 [[male]], Transcaucasie (vallee de l'Araxes, Leder!)., Published as part of Forel, A., 1904, Note sur les fourmis du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences à St. Pétersbourg., pp. 368-388 in Yezhegodnik Zoologicheskogo Muzeya Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk 8 on page 5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.25586

Crematogaster (Sphaerocrema) gambiensis st. sejuncta Stits. = Crematogaster sejuncta Stitz, 1916, Ergegn. Zweit. Deutsch. Zentr. Afr. Exp. 1910 - 11, I, p. 387, fig. 6 [[worker]]. Crematogaster (Sphaerocrema), sejuncta Weeler, 1922, Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. XLV, p. 948. ��� Emery. Cat. Gen. Ins. Myrmicinae, P, 153. Congo belge: Kalambaie, (Dr. Schouteden). Cette forme n'est qu'une race ou variete de Cr. gambiensis Andre., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 227

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) africana subspecies laurenti variety zeta (Forel) Many workers and a few females taken by Dr. Bequaert at Pale (Niembo, between Warikale and Lubutu) from the myrmecodomatia of Plectronia Laurentii (Part IV) and at Leopoldville in the rudimentary leaf pouches of Randia physophylla (Part IV); also by Lang and Chapin at Stanleyville in the stem cavities of Cuviera angolensis (Part IV.) The female of this form is black and striated as in the typical C. africana., Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 157

Crematogaster (Acrocoelia) castanea Sm. st. busschodtsi Em. [[queen]] (non decrite). ��� Long.: 7 a 8 mm. Entierement d'un brun ferrugineux comme l'ouvriere, le gastre aussi fonce que le thorax (jaunatre chez la var. analis). Tete a peine plus etroite que longue, bien moins large que chez castanea. Les cotes assez droits, les angles posterieurs brevement arrondis. Le scape n'atteint pas le bord posterieur de la tete, qui est droit. Scutellum plus conique derriere, face basale de l'epinotum un peu plus courte, le reste plus etroit que chez castanea. Ailes hyalines longues de 6 mm. [[male]] (non decrit). ��� Long.: 3 mm. environ. Noir brunatre. Antennes roussatres. Mandibules et pattes brun jaunatre. Mate. Reticulee ponctuee comme l' [[worker]], mais le devant du mesonotum est finement strie en long. Gastre luisant. Pubescence rare sauf sur l'abdomen. Poils dresses courts, clairs, moyennement abondants sur le thorax, sous la tete et sur les cuisses. Tete presque un quart plus large, avec les yeux, que longue, largement arrondie derriere les yeux. Ceux-ci, tres convexes, occupent la moitie des cotes de la tete. Ocelles grands. Sillon frontal profond et complet. Epistome convexe, imprime transversalement derriere. Mandibules unidentees. Scape plus court que les mandibules. Articles 2 a 4 du funicule aussi longs que larges, les suivants de plus en plus longs. Thorax plus large que la tete. Ailes hyalines, l'anterieure longue de 3,2 mm. Congo belge: Luluabourg, 31 - VIII- 1913 (P. Callwaert) [[worker]] [[queen]] [[male]] ([[male]]. [[queen]]. types) avec la notice: " Fourmis habitant les termitieres en champignons, Cubitermes jungifaber a centre encore habite par les termites. Lorsqu'on ouvre le nid les fourmis saisissent les termites par l'abdomen. Ceux-ci se cramponnent aux fragments ". L'ouvriere a 4 mm. et les exemplaires du Natal sont un peu plus grands., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1930, Description de formicides ��thiopiens nouveaux ou peu connus. V., pp. 49-77 in Bulletin et Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belge 70 on page 64

Crematogaster castanea subspecies inversa variety flaviventris (Santschi) Many workers from Garamba (Lang and Chapin), without further data. Both this and the variety analis were originally described from the Belgian Congo. The varietv flaviventris has also been taken in Uganda (C. Alluaud)., Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 152

Crematogaster pronotalis Santschi var. Behanzini, n. var. [[worker]] Long. 2,7 - 3,4 mm. Plus petite et plus, sculptee que le type, les stries sont plus prolongees en arriere, mais le front reste luisant. Tete un peu moins large, surtout chez les petits exemplaires qui sont aussi plus sombres sur le thorax et la tete. Le bord anterieur du premier n oe ud est moins transversal, plutot concave, les angles sont saillants en avant, bien qu'un peu arrondis, les bords lateraux un peu releves font que la face superieure est un peu concave. Pour le reste comme le type. ��� La var. dakarensis a, au contraire, la tete beaucoup plus lisse, et le bord anterieur du premier n oe ud transversal comme chez pronotalis i. sp. Dahomey: Kotonou, 8 [[worker]] (Museum de Paris). . Les Crematogaster luctans For. et C. rugosior Santschi ont le pronotum moins fortement borde en avant, mais font cependant partie du groupe rugosa-Bequaerti-pronotalis., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1915, Nouvelles fourmis d'Afrique., pp. 244-282 in Annales de la Soci��t�� Entomologique de France 84 on page 251

Genus 4. CREMATOGASTER. Formica, pt., Oliv. Encycl. Meth. vi. 497 (1791). Myrmica, pt., Latr. Hist. Nat. Fourm, 261 (1804). Crematogaster, Lund, Ann. Sc. Nat. xxvii. (1831). Acrocoelia, Mayr. Ein. neue Ameis. 143 (1852). Maxillary palpi 5-jointed, labial palpi 3-jointed. Antennae 11-jointed, the club 3-jointed. Anterior wings with one marginal cell, incomplete; one complete submarginal, and one discoidal cell. Abdomen cordate, the petiole attached to the upper surface of its base. The insects belonging to this genus of Ants construct their nests on the branches of trees, suspending them in the same way as Wasps, to the nests of which they have a close resemblance; on removing the outer covering, however, they exhibit a very different construction, being composed of multitudinous, curved, intricate ramifications, all leading to the interior chambers and galleries. From the close resemblance which the nests have to a wig, they have probably acquired the popular name of the Negro-head, by which they are generally known in the Brazils. The insects are readily known in consequence of the abdomen being usually heart-shaped, and the peduncle by which it is attached to the thorax being inserted at the top of the basal segment, instead of beneath, as it is in all the other genera of Ants. These insects are described by observers as having a remarkable appearance when running about, as at such times they curve the abdomen upwards, so that it partly overhangs the thorax behind.

Crematogaster Bequaerti For. var. Gerardi, n. var. [[worker]]. Long. 5 mm. D'un rouge noiratre bien plus sombre que le type, y compris les scapes et la plus grande partie des cuisses et des tibias. Gastre noir. Funicule, mandibules et articulation des pattes roussatres. Plus fortement sculpte que le type de l'espece. La carene du mesonotum plus marquee, les epines bien plus courtes, moins divergentes et surtout bien plus epaisses. Le premier n oe ud est aussi un peu plus court, du reste comme le type. Congo belge: Katanga, Kataki (Dr Gerard). La variete mutabilis Santschi a la couleur, au contraire, en general plus claire que le type et la var. ludia For. est plus petite, avec les scapes plus longs., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1915, Nouvelles fourmis d'Afrique., pp. 244-282 in Annales de la Soci��t�� Entomologique de France 84 on page 252

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) africana Mayr v. Stanleyi Sants. Congo belge: Penghe, Irumu (Bequaert), [[worker]], Published as part of Santschi, F., 1930, Description de formicides ��thiopiens nouveaux ou peu connus. V., pp. 49-77 in Bulletin et Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belge 70 on pages 49-77

C. (Atopogyne) depressa Latr. Type de plaine occidentale, trouve seulement a Keoulenta et Yalanzou., Published as part of Bernard, F., 1953, La reserve naturelle integrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hymenopteres Formicidae., pp. 165-270 in Memoires de l'Institut Francais d'Afrique Noire 19 on page 234

15. Crematogaster victima. B.M. Worker. Length 1 line.-Pale rufo-testaceous: the head usually rather darker than the thorax, the abdomen rufo-fuscous with the base palest. The head smooth and shining; the thorax slightly roughened anteriorly, the lateral margins raised, the metathorax armed with two acute spines, a deep strangulation between the meso- and metathorax; the abdomen thinly sprinkled with long pale hairs. Hab. Brazil (Santarem)., Published as part of Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London :British Museum on page 140

Crematogaster australis, Mayr. Yallingup (Turner), ���., Published as part of Crawley W. C., 1915, Ants from north and south-west Australia (G. F. Hill, Rowland Turner) and Christmas Island, Straits Settlements. Part 2, pp. 232-239 in Ann. Mag Natur. Hist. 15 on page 236

27. ��� Crematogaster (Oxygyne) descarpentriesi n. sp. [[worker]]. ��� Long. 3,5 a 3,8 mm. ��� D'un brun moyen un peu rougeatre. Tete et base du gastre un peu plus fonces. Reste du gastre brun noir. Mandibules, bord anterieur et dessous de la tete, plus jaunatres. Antennes aussi foncees que le thorax. Tete finement et irregulierement chagrinee en long, presque lisse et luisante. Une bande lisse et plus luisante va de l'epistome au vertex. Joues finement striees comme les mandibules. Pronotum, pedoncule et gastre chagrines reticules avec un luisant attenue comme la tete. Reste du thorax plus lisse et luisant. Corps glabre sauf quelques poils vers la bouche sur le pedoncule et au bout du gastre. Appendices abondamment pourvus d'une pubescence longue et oblique. Tete en carre tres arrondi lateralement, le bord posterieur presque droit, le bord cervical echancre. Yeux entre le milieu et le tiers posterieur des cotes de la tete. Sillon frontal et aire frontale bien imprimes. Cretes frontales tres courtes, mousses ou a peine saillantes, (moins developpees que chez Cr. ranavalonae For. plus que chez emmae For.). Mandibules de dents. Le scape depasse le bord posterieur de la tete d'environ un cinquieme de sa longueur. Profil du thorax peu convexe a partir du milieu du pronotum, faiblement interrompu au metanotum. Suture promesonotale remplacee par une legere impression. Face basale de l'epinotum un peu plus longue lateralement que large entre les epines. Celles-ci longues comme les 2 / 3 de leur intervalle basal, presque horizontales et mediocrement divergentes. Petiole trapezoidal, plus large devant que long, aussi large que le postpetiole. Les cotes et les angles anterieurs arrondis. Un large et fort sillon partage completement le postpetiole. Madagascar: Fianarantsoa (Descarpentries) 20 [[worker]]. Tres voisin de Cr. inops For. mais le thorax est un peu plus imprime au mesonotum, la sculpture moins accusee. Le sillon frontal present (Forel ecrit dans sa description de 1891 qu'il est absent et dans celle de 1892 qu'il est present). Le postpetiole imprime dans toute sa longueur. L'echancrure metanotale plus profonde mais moins que chez emmae For., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1928, Descriptions de nouvelles fourmis ��thiopiennes (quatri��me note)., pp. 54-69 in Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 16 on pages 68-69, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18159

1. Crematogaster ampullaris. C. rufo-niger; capite thorace mul-tum latiore; parte postica thoracis dilatata; abdomine cordata. Worker. Length 2 lines. Obscure fusco-ferruginous; the antennae, sides of the head, the nodes of the petiole, and the legs of a brighter red; the head much wider than the thorax and more shining; the metathorax much swollen and wider than the prothorax, swelling out on each side. Abdomen, heart-shaped, palest at the base and shining. Hab. Celebes (Tondano). The swollen metathorax in this species, I apprehend, is a receptacle for saccharine fluid; on each side is a small orifice, and beneath it, adhering to the thorax, are particles of crystallized masses, apparently formed of the fluid which has exuded from the receptacle. Two species from Sarawak, having similar formations, are described in the second volume of the ' Proceedings of the Linnean Society., Published as part of Smith, F., 1861, Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the Islands of Ceram, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo., pp. 36-48 in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 6 on pages 47-48

15. ��� Crematogaster (Acrocoelia) castanea Sm. st. busschodtsi Em. Congo Belge: Banana (J. Bequaert leg.); ��� Rhodesia du Nord, N'kama (W. T. Gresham-William). Cette race decrite sur des exemplaires du Cameroun a deja ete signalee de l'Afrique orientale par Forel, ��� La C., castanea v. inversa Forel doit se classer comme variete de busschodtsi. Le bout des epines a une tendance marquee a se recourber en dehors. Cette forme est cataloguee par erreur buccsholdtsi dans le Gen. Insect., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1928, Descriptions de nouvelles fourmis ��thiopiennes (quatri��me note)., pp. 54-69 in Revue de Zoologie et de Botanique Africaines 16 on pages 61-62, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18159

Crematogaster subdentata Mayr. Region transcaspienne, (golfe de Karabugas, 9 [[queen]], I - II; 25 [[worker]], I, II, XII. 1894. Maximovic!. St. Bairam-Ali, 1 [[worker]], 27. IX. 1.896. Ahnger!). Turkestan orient. (Tschertschen-Darja, chez l'oasis, 1 [[worker]], V. 1895. Przevalsku!). Un [[male]] de la Chine occidentale (Sze-tschwan, valle Tunkgocho, l [[male]], 22. VII. 1893. Potanin!); semble appartenir a cette espece. Il est d'un brun clair, lisse, luisant, et long de 3,6 mill. Mon Crematogaster inermis race kashgariensis n'est qu'une variete plus grande du subdentata, avec la massue des antennes assez distinctement de 3 articles et pas de 2., Published as part of Forel, A., 1904, Note sur les fourmis du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences à St. Pétersbourg., pp. 368-388 in Yezhegodnik Zoologicheskogo Muzeya Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk 8 on page 5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.25586

2. Crematogaster sordidulus. Pl. IX. figs. 4-6. B.M. Myrmica sordidula, Nyl. Addit. Alt. Mon. Form. Bor. Eur. 44; Form. Fr. et d'Alger. 101. Acrocoelia Mayri, Schmidt, Mayr. Beitr. zur Kenntn. der Ameis, p. 14. Crematogaster sordidula, Mayr. Form. Austr, 200. Hab. Europe (France; Austria); Dalmatia., Published as part of Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London :British Museum on pages 135-136

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) theta (Forel) Plate XI, Figures 1 and 2; Plate XII, Figures 1 and 2; Plate Xlii, Figure 1 Medje, [[worker]]; Avakubi, [[worker]]; Stanleyville, [[worker]], [[queen]], [[male]] (Lang and Chapin). According to Santschi (in litt.), "this form represents the extreme limit of the subgenus Atopogyne. The worker has a feeble groove on the postpetiole, and the premesonotal impression is feeble. Moreover, the female is brown, smooth, and shining, with spined epinotum, very different from the female of C. africana (Mayr) and the variety zeta (Forel)." The specimens from Avakubi were collected by the natives, who call this ant "lona." The carton nests are shown in PlateXI and XII. Concerning the specimens from Stanleyville, Mr. Lang writes: "These small black ants are very common. They build carton nests in trees, on the trunks of which they travel up and down in uninterrupted columns. At the slightest disturbance the nest is covered with workers. They appear and move so rapidly that it is very difficult to study them, especially as they sting disagreeably. Large numbers of nests may be found in the same tree, sometimes as low as ten feet from the ground, or even in bushes as well as in the tops of the tallest trees, living or dead. They have almost any shape, depending on their position, whether in forks of the branches or about twigs. In the latter situations they resemble mere lumps. The more regular nests, however, are somewhat conical, like the tops of termite hills and are placed upright on the boughs. In color, the carton is grayish or dark brown. In size, the structures are rarely more than two feet in height and about a foot in diameter. Their cells are irregular, the walls of the chambers being from 1 to 3 mm. thick, and there are many entrances and exits. Though very light, the nests are so tough that slices can be chopped off with a hatchet without breaking the remainder. The carton seems to be made from the fibres of rotten leaves worked up with secretions from the oral glands of the workers. The chambers are> often full of brood, which is not confined to any particular part of the nest. The rufous females were present in such numbers that twenty or more could be lifted at a time clinging to one another on the points of the tweezers.", Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 159

Crematogaster concava Emery 1899, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, XLIII, p. 480, fig. ([[queen]] nec [[worker]]). Cette var. n'est probablement que la [[queen]] du wellmani., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 219

Crematogaster excisa subspecies impressa variety sapora (Forel) Numerous workers from Yakuluku (Lang and Chapin) "found nesting in the cavities of small mushroom-shaped termitaria.", Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 154

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) africana (Mayr) variety schumanni (Mayr) A number of workers taken by Dr. Bequaert at Leopoldville in the hollow stems of a Barteria Dewevrei (Part IV)., Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 157

Crematogaster (Acrocoelia) opaceipes Mayr st. cacadaemon (Forel). (��� Crematogaster peringuayi Em. st. cacadaemon Forel 1914, Bul. Soc. Vaud. Sc. Nat., V, p. 143, [[worker]] [[male]] [[queen]]. Crematogaster castanea st. rufonogra v. cacadaemon Arnold, 1920, Ann. South Afr. Mus. XIV, p. 494, [[worker]] [[queen]] [[male]]). Cette race doit plutot se rapporter a opaciceps Mayr., dont elle ne differe que par sa tete noiratre, tandis qu'elle est rougeatre comme le thorax chez opaciceps. Forme et sculpture comme chez cette espece, Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 216

14. Crematogaster Montezumia. Pl. I. fig. 1. Nest. B.M. Worker. Length 1 1/3 line.-Obscure brown-black, opake; the abdomen shining black. Head, seen above, rotundate, eyes rather prominent. Thorax deeply strangulated between the meso- and metathorax, the latter widely and deeply excavated, with a short acute spine on each side. The first node of the peduncle, viewed in front, is oblong; the second subglobose, with a deeply impressed line above: the insect is thinly sprinkled with long glittering white hairs. Female. Length 1 2/3 line.-Usually of a darker colour than the worker, nearly black: the wings slightly fuscous and subopake, the nervures pale testaceous; the metathorax armed with sharp spines; the basal node of the petiole oblong, with the angles prominent, the second node transverse and deeply notched in the middle: sprinkled with white hairs like the worker. Male. Length 1 1/4 line.-Of the same colour as the worker: the head transverse; the eyes prominent, as well as the ocelli, which are placed wide apart on the vertex, the anterior one larger than the posterior pair. Thorax ovate, not spined. Abdomen closely resembling that of the worker. Hab. Mexico., Published as part of Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London :British Museum on pages 139-140

1. Crematogaster anthracinus. C. aterrimus, laevis et nitidus; tarsis rufo-piceis. Worker. Length 1 1/4 line. Jet-black, smooth and shining; the face with a few delicate striae; the extreme base of the scape, and the apex of the flagellum, pale testaceous. Thorax: flattened above, opake and finely rugose; the metathorax armed on each side with an acute spine; the tarsi pale testaceous, with the claw-joint darker. Abdomen: heart-shaped, smooth, shining and impunctate. Hab. Singapore., Published as part of Smith, F., 1857, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects collected at Sarawak, Borneo; Mount Ophir, Malacca; and at Singapore, by A. R. Wallace., pp. 42-88 in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 2 on page 75

Crematogaster (Sphaerocrema) kneri Mayr. Cette espece se distingue surtout pas son pronotum fortement borde devant et specialement sur les cotes ou il est saillant, ensuite par sa grossiere sculpture. Les epines sont longues. Le petiole trapezoidal avec les angles anterieurs plus ou moins avances ce qui rend le bord anterieur un peu concave. A cette espece se rattachent comme races ou varietes les C. pronotalis Sants. funerea Sants. dakarensi Sants. et behanzini Sants., ce dernier comme simple variete, distincte du type par la base du gastre plus clair et les cuisses non rembrunies., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 224

[[worker]] Crematogaster (Orthocrema) natalensis For. var. dulcis n. var. (Crematogaster) sordidula st. natalensis v. braunsi Forel, 1911, Rev. Zool. Afr. I, p. 277. (Partim) Arnold, 1920, Ann. South African Mus. XIV, p. 539. [[worker]] Roussatre. Occiput �� parties du dos thoracique, et gastre d'un brun jaunatre. Differe de braunsi par son petiole un peu plus court et un peu plus arque sur les cotes. Les epines sont plus comprimees et s'amincissent moins brusquement de la base a l'apex. Aussi robuste que braunsi, c'est a dire bien plus que chez natalensis. Chez rectinota For. les du petiole sont plus droits. Natal: Eastcourt (R. C. Wrougton, recue de Mr. G. Arnold)., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 212

C. impressa Em. Petite espece brune, banale en Afrique occidentale; MONOD l'a trouvee au Niger nichant dans des tiges creuses. C'est un des Crematogaster les plus abondants des regions basses du Nimba, jusqu'a 700 metres, et il penetre a peine en foret primaire (ravin I du Mont To)., Published as part of Bernard, F., 1953, La reserve naturelle integrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hymenopteres Formicidae., pp. 165-270 in Memoires de l'Institut Francais d'Afrique Noire 19 on page 235

14. Cremastogaster Acaciae Forel [[worker]] Bewohnt Accacien-dornen am Webifluss (Zool. Anzeiger Nr. 388, 1892 beschrieben)., Published as part of Forel, A., 1892, Liste der aus dem Somaliland von Hrn. Prof. Dr. Conr. Keller aus der Expedition des Prinzen Ruspoli im August und September 1891 zur�� �� ckgebrachten Ameisen., pp. 349-354 in Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 8 on page 353

Crematogaster (Spaecrocrema) wellmani For). (Fig. 2 A). ��� Crematogaster wellmani Forel, 1909, Ann. Soc. Ent. Belgique, LIII, p. 64, [[worker]] (nee [[queen]]) Emery, Cat. Gen. Insect. Myrmicinae, p. 144. ��� Crematogaster (Atopogyne) wellmani Weeler, 1922, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. XLV, p. 857. Cette espece doit se rapporter avec un groupe de forme voisines et comme Mr. Emery l'a fait deja pour la var. luciae, au S. G. Sphaerocrema, malgre la petite impression que porte en general le bord posterieur du petiole. Cette impression est bien plus attenuee chez la femelle. Ce groupe fait passage, d'une part aux Sphaerocrema gam- biensis Andre, sejuncta Stitz, et nigeriensis Sants. et d'autre part a ces crematogaster plus ou moins lisses et inermes tels que C. inermis Mayr alluaudi Em. nigriceps, nigronitens Sants, solersi For. etc. mais dont le postpetiole est nettement sillonne sur toute sa longueur, tant chez la [[queen]] que chez les [[worker]]., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1926, Description de nouveaux formicides ��thiopiens (IIIme partie)., pp. 207-267 in Revue de Zoologie Africaine 13 on page 218

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) africana subspecies laurenti (Forel) Numerous workers taken by Dr. Bequaert in the Rain Forest on the Tshopo River, near Stanleyville, in the hollow stems of Plectronia Laurentii(Part IV)., Published as part of Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., pp. 39-269 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45 on page 157

Crematogaster scutellaris Oliv. v. schmidti Mayr. Crimee (Mis'chor, 19 [[worker]], 3. VII. 1899; Aluschta, 1 [[worker]], 18. V. 1900. N. Kuzne- cov!). Transcaucasie (Gouv. Kutais, Artvin, 5 [[worker]], 23. VI. 1898. Derjugin!. Zakataly, Lagodechi, 1 [[queen]], 21. X. 1896. Mlokosevic!)., Published as part of Forel, A., 1904, Note sur les fourmis du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences à St. Pétersbourg., pp. 368-388 in Yezhegodnik Zoologicheskogo Muzeya Imperatorskoi Akademii Nauk 8 on page 5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.25586

Cr. (Sphaerocrema) bequaerti Forel Fourmi connue seulement du Congo et d'Afrique orientale. 4 ouvrieres de T. 40, Ziela, termitiere (LAMOTTE) appartiennent a la var. mutabilis SANT., petite et roussatre. Une [[queen]] ailee du Camp IV (1.000 m.) est rapportee avec doute a la meme espece., Published as part of Bernard, F., 1953, La reserve naturelle integrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hymenopteres Formicidae., pp. 165-270 in Memoires de l'Institut Francais d'Afrique Noire 19 on page 233

5. Crematogaster inflatus. C. niger, laevis et nitidus; parte postica thoracis pallide testacea, inflata. Worker. Length 2 1/2 lines. Black, smooth and shining; the antennae dark rufo-piceous; the mandibles striated and ferruginous, their teeth black; eyes small and lateral, placed about the middle of the head. Thorax: the anterior margin rounded; the posterior portion inflated into a yellowish semi-transparent bladder-like swelling, divided in the middle by a deep longitudinal depression; the swollen part not quite so wide as the head; the apical joints of the tarsi rufo-testaceous. Abdomen heart-shaped; the peduncle, base, and the apical margin of the first segment, obscurely rufo-piceous. Hab. Singapore; Borneo (Sarawak). This is one of those singular and anomalous species, which, without any particle of information, derived from observation, puzzle and perplex the naturalist; what can possibly be the use of the bladder-like excrescence on the thorax of this insect, it is difficult to imagine; to the touch it is elastic, and apparently forms a receptacle for saccharine fluids. With the aid of a microscope, a small circular orifice can be seen at each of the posterior lateral angles of the swollen part, and small crystallized particles are apparent, not only within the orifice, but scattered over the surface of the inflation; we may, therefore, reasonably suppose that this singular apparatus is for the purpose of elaborating a suitable and necessary aliment for the larvae of this singular insect., Published as part of Smith, F., 1857, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects collected at Sarawak, Borneo; Mount Ophir, Malacca; and at Singapore, by A. R. Wallace., pp. 42-88 in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 2 on page 76

Crematogaster Lund Crematogaster is one of the largest and most sharply defined genera in the family Formicidae. The species are all small, with monomorphic worker, decidedly larger female, and the male usually as small as the worker. The worker and female have 10- or 11-jointed antennae, those of the male are usually 12-jointed. All the phases can be readily recognized by the peculiar structure and articulation of the petiole and postpetiole. The former does not bear a node but is more or less flattened above, the latter is short and articulated to the anterodorsal surface of the gaster, instead of to its anterior end as in other ants. The gaster, moreover, is in the worker and male subtriangular or subcordate, with pointed tip, and its upper surface is concave or more or less flattened, its ventral surface more convex and protuberant. These peculiarities in the structure of the abdomen enable the workers of many species to turn the gaster forward over the thorax and head, so that they are sometimes called "acrobat ants." As a rule, the sting is feebly developed. The anterior wings of the male and female have a discoidal and a single closed cubital cell. The species of Crematogaster all form populous colonies which nest in the ground, under stones, in logs, the cavities of living plants, or in peculiar carton nests attached to the branches or trunks of trees. This habit of making carton nests is best seen in the tropical species, but traces of it survive even in the species inhabiting temperate regions, such as the North American C. lineolata (Say). Many of the species have rank and disagreeable odors. The genus is cosmopolitan (Map 22), though the species scarcely enter the colder portions of the north and south temperate zones. Our common C. lineolata (Say) of North America occurs, however, as far north as Nova Scotia. The vast majority of species are confined to the tropics, being particularly numerous in the Neotropical and Ethiopian Regions. The African forms are so numerous and so variable that they constitute a veritable welter of subspecies and varieties. Mayr, Forel, Arnold, and Santschi have all dispaired of reducing this chaos to order. Unfortunately the portion of Arnold's work dealing with the South African species has been postponed by the war. He has, however, kindly written me concerning certain necessaly changes in the synonymy of several of the species and I have adopted his interpretations in the list of Ethiopian species (Part VIII). Dr. Santschi, who has given more attention to the African species of Crematogaster than any previous author, has generously examined and identified a series of all the Congo forms collected by Lang, Chapin, and Bequaert and has written the descriptions of several new forms. In the meantime he has published a revision of the subgenera of Crematogaster.1 Forel was the first to begin the splitting of the genus, but Santschi has added several new subgenera. A translation of his table has been included in the key to the genera and subgenera of Myrmicinae. Santschi has arranged these various subgenera according to their natural affinities in the following sequence: 1. Decacrema 2. Orthocrema 3. Eucrema 4. Neocrema 5. Sphaerocrema 6. Crematogaster, sensu stricto 7. Atopogyne 8. Paracrema 9. Xiphocrema 10. Physocrema 11. Oxygyne 12. Nematocrema Of these, at least seven, Decacrema, Orthocrema, Sphaerocrema, Crematogaster, Atopogyne, Oxygyne, and Nematocrema occur in the Ethiopian Region. In the Congo material before me only Sphaerocrema, Crematogaster, Atopogyne, and Nematocrema are represented.

Crematogaster (Atopogyne) africana Mayr. st. thoracica nov. st. - [[worker]] Long. 3 - 3.7 mill. - Noir. Thorax rouge sombre ou brun rouge fonce. Mandibules et cotes de l'epistome, milieu du funicule et tarses d'un roux plus ou moins brunatre. Assez luisante, plus que chez la var. schumanni Mayr, mais moins que chez Cr. laurenti For., les strioles de la tete bien plus faibles que chez africana type. Pilosite rare. Tete un peu plus longue que large, un peu plus etroite au bord posterieur qui n'est pas echancre. Cotes peu convexes. Sillon frontal tres imprime. Pronotum fortement imprime au milieu devant le metanotum chez les " [[worker]], beaucoup moins chez les [[worker]] ' ". Carene du mesonotum courte et faible. Epines fines et aigues, tres divergentes. Disque du petiole arrondi, pas plus large que le postpetiole. Celui-ci fortement imprime derriere. parfois faiblement prolonge devant. Congo belge: Kondue (Luja), recu de Mr Reichensperger., Published as part of Santschi, F., 1921, Quelques nouveaux formicides africains., pp. 113-122 in Annales de la Societe Entomologique de Belgique 61 on page 118