Pachycondyla simillima

Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London: British Museum : 105-106

2. Pachycondyla simillima . Pl. VII. fig. 17.

Female. Length 9 lines.-Black: the head and thorax subopake, the abdomen shining. Head as wide as the thorax, longitudinally striated; the projections on the face, beneath which the antennae are inserted, smooth, shining and rufo-piceous, the scape obscurely so; between the antennae are three longitudinal grooves, the central one narrowest; mandibles very large, elongate, bent downwards, shining and finely striated, the inner margin serrated, and with a row of strong punctures. The prothorax with a transverse curved striation; the mesothorax longitudinally striated as well as the scutellum, the latter shining in the middle; the metathorax striated transversely; the wings fulvo-hyaline, the nervures ferruginous; the legs pubescent, the anterior tarsi densely so. Abdomen: the scale of the petiole incrassate, transversely striated and slightly emarginate above, slightly bent or curved towards the thorax. Abdomen with a slight silky grey pubescence, most dense at the sides, the constriction not very deep between the first and second segments; the apical margins of the segments rufo-piceous; the scale produced beneath into a large conical tubercle pointed at the apex.

Hab. Cape of Good Hope. (Coll. F. Smith.)