Eciton nigrum, Jerdon, T. C., 1851

Jerdon, T. C., 1851, A catalogue of the species of ants found in southern India., Madras Journal of Literature and Science 17, pp. 103-127 : 112

15. Eciton nigrum , N. S.

Worker, length 9 - 24 th of an inch, head long, eyes large, medial; antennae short, the first joint not being so long as the head; jaws somewhat square, bluntly toothed; thorax low, barely grooved; both abdominal pedicles long, rounded, low; abdomen long, oval; sting very large. Colour uniform black. Female, length 11 - 24 th of an inch, differs from the Worker only in having wings.

. This Ant like the last is rare in Malabar, but tolerably common in parts of the Carnatic; it has the same habits as the last, living in holes of trees, & c., and feeds on the same manner. I have found on cutting open a dead branch on which they had formed their nest many winged females, and larvae and pupae in different states of development.