Camponotus horni Kirby

Clark, J., 1930, New Formicidae, with notes on some little-known species., Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 43, pp. 2-25 : -

7. Camponotus horni Kirby .

Palm Creek, burrow nest under stone.

Kirby says: " The peculiar structure of this species will probably ultimately necessitate its removal to another genus, but the: rufous body and purple abdomen will render it easily recognisable." In this statement he is correct, for the worker is Iridomyrmex detectus Smith , the most common and widely distributed ant in Australia. The female appears to be a valid species, and is, here redescribed as Camponotus {Tanaemyrmex) horni Kirby .

Female.-Length, 13 mm.

Black. Inner edge of the mandibles, front of the face, antennae- and pronotum ferrugineous. Legs testaceous. Tarsi, and knees darker. Wings hyaline with a brownish tinge.

Shining. Head, pronotum and epinotum finely and densely reticulate-punctate. Mesonotum, scutellum and gaster superficially so.

Hair reddish, long and erect, rather sparse throughout. Pubescence reddish, short and sparse.

Head longer than broad, broader behind than in front, the occipital border feebly convex, the sides nearly straight. Frontal. carinae diverging widely behind, with a longitudinal median groove between them. Clypeus feebly cannate, the anterior border produced, straight, or feebly concave. Eyes large, rather fiat, their distance from the occipital border somewhat less than their diameter. Ocelli large. Scapes passing the occipital border by one-fourth of their length. Thorax almost twice as long as broad. Pronotum small, hardly visible from above. Mesonotum broader than long, strongly convex in front and on the sides, flattened, or feebly convex, above. Parapsidal furrows impressed. Scutellum broader than long, broader in front than behind. Epinotum twice as broad as long, the declivity steep, but without a defined boundary on the dorsum. Node scale-like, fully three times broader than long, convex in front, straight behind; in profile strongly convex in front, the top edge sharp. Gaster longer than broad. Legs long and slender.

Habitat.-Palm Creek.