Formica compressa

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 : 119-120

32. Formica compressa , Fabr.? Syn. F. indefessa , Sykes.

Worker, length 4 - 10 th to 1 / 2 an inch; head oblong, notched behind; eyes medial, of moderate size; jaws triangular, toothed; antennas long; thorax widened anteriorly; abdominal pedicles somewhat diamond shaped above, much raised and thin as seen laterally; legs rufous, the rest of the body black.

Warrior, 6 - 10 th of an inch long; differs from the ordinary Worker in the head being proportionally much larger, and the jaws having blunt teeth.

Male, length 4 - 10 th of an inch; has a small triangular head, lateral eyes, three ocelli, the thorax raised in front, and the abdominal pedicle broader; wings do not reach to end of abdomen.

Female 5 - 8 th of an inch long; very similar to the male, has the jaws strongly toothed, somewhat oblong; and the abdomen pro-portionally large.

This species well known in India, as the black Ant is found throughout every part of this country which I have traversed, ex-cept the Western Coast where I have never seen it. It appears to me that it is most probably the species described by Fabricius whose name I have accordingly adopted.

It lives in very numerous societies in the ground, the entrance to the nest being often round the trunk of a tree, or close to some building. The Warriors are very numerous. Their food is chiefly vegetable secretions, sugar, & c., and Colonel Sykes has given an interesting account of the devastations commuted by them on preserves, sugar, & c. which I regret that I cannot transcribe having mislaid the volume of the transactions of the Entomological Journal in which it appeared. They bite rather severely, but the pain is quite momentary. At certain times great numbers of the winged males and females are seen at the mouth of the nest, and they remain there for several days. When they take wing, they do so in vast numbers, and always at night.