Adelomyrmex myops

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Adelomyrmex myops
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Adelomyrmex
Species: A. myops
Binomial name
Adelomyrmex myops
(Wheeler, W.M., 1910)

Adelomyrmex myops casent0173239 profile 1.jpg

Adelomyrmex myops casent0173239 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Most records reveal A. myops to be a lowland species but with less habitat specificity than other Adelomyrmex. It occurs in mature forest of varying seasonality, from aseasonal wet forest to strongly seasonal dry forest. It also has been collected in disturbed habitats, including a cacao plantation in Honduras. There is a record from the Galapagos Islands, where it is probably introduced (Herrera & Longino 2008). It can be locally abundant, occurring in up to 20% of quantitative miniWinkler samples. The great majority of records are from 600 m elevation or lower, but an anomalous site is Cerro Musún in Nicaragua. Adelomyrmex myops occurred in Winkler samples from 1000–1100 m, but not in quantitative Winkler sampling around 700 m. (Longino 2012)

At a Glance • Limited invasive  

Identification

Longino (2012) - In some cases, the dorsal promesonotal rugae of workers are somewhat longitudinally oriented, blurring the distinction between A. myops, Adelomyrmex tristani, and Adelomyrmex paratristani. The dorsal rugae are never strongly linear, like most collections of A. tristani and A. paratristani. Nearly all A. tristani have strongly linear dorsal rugae, but there is more variation in A. paratristani, where some workers have strongly vermiculate rugae, approaching the condition of some A. myops workers. In other words, A. myops occupies the range of variation from completely reticulate rugose to strongly vermiculate rugose with some longitudinal orientation, while A. paratristani ranges from the latter condition to having completely linear, parallel, longitudinal rugae. Adelomyrmex myops has dorsal pilosity more like A. tristani than A. paratristani. This is most evident on the gaster, where A. paratristani usually has sparse, long, erect setae, with very reduced presence of more decumbent setae beneath them, while A. myops has a denser brush of erect and subdecumbent setae.

Queens of A. myops have an abrupt transition from longitudinal rugae on the mesonotum to coarse, reticulate rugosity on the scutellum. In A. tristani and A. paratristani, the scutellum has longitudinal, subparallel rugae.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Guatemala to Panama, Ecuador (Galapagos).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 20.98305556° to 4.74526°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Guatemala (type locality), Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
pChart

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Males have yet to be collected.

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Adelomyrmex myops casent0173240 head 1.jpgAdelomyrmex myops casent0173240 head 2.jpgAdelomyrmex myops casent0173240 profile 1.jpgAdelomyrmex myops casent0173240 dorsal 1.jpgAdelomyrmex myops casent0173240 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173240. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CDRS, Galapagos, Ecuador.
Adelomyrmex myops inbiocri001237377 head 1.jpgAdelomyrmex myops inbiocri001237377 profile 1.jpgAdelomyrmex myops inbiocri001237377 dorsal 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code inbiocri001237377. Photographer C. Richart, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • myops. Apsychomyrmex myops Wheeler, W.M. 1910a: 261, fig. 2 (w.) GUATEMALA.
    • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1955b: 29 (l.); Fernández, 2003b: 25 (q.).
    • Combination in Adelomyrmex: Kempf, 1972a: 18.
    • Status as species: Mann, 1922: 33; Emery, 1924d: 268; Menozzi, 1931b: 269; Smith, M.R. 1947b: 470 (redescription); Kempf, 1972a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 58; Fernández, 2003b: 24 (redescription); Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 257; Longino, 2012: 24; Fernández & Serna, 2019: 803.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Holotype (other, n=9). HL 0.75 (0.57–0.70) HW 0.66 (0.53–0.66) SL 0.46 (0.38–0.41) EL 0.07 (0.05–0.07) WL 0.76 (0.56–0.70) GL 0.87 (0.68–0.87) TL 3.00 (2.31–3.00) CI 88 (90–100) SI 70 (66–73).

Mandibles with 5 to 7 teeth decreasing in size from apical teeth. Eyes small, with approximately 10–12 ommatidia. Hypostomal tooth small, sharp pointed. Promesonotum evenly convex, dorsal face of propodeum very short. Metanotal groove deep, distinct. Propodeal spines higher than wide. Node with anterior and posterior faces more or less parallel, dorsal face nearly straight. Postpetiole lower than petiole, sub-quadrate, ventral carina well developed. Head, pronotum and mesonotum coarsely reticulate-rugose, with longitudinal rugulae at anterior part of head and more or less on the sides of mesosoma. Transverse rugae between propodeal spines and sides of petiole and postpetiole. Declivous face of propodeum ranges from smooth to covered with transverse rugae. Mandibles smooth or with longitudinal rugae feebly marked on outer half. Mandibles, legs and gaster usually smooth and shining. Hairs yellowish, long and flexuous on the body, more short and appressed on antennae and legs. Body black to dark brown, antennae and legs lighter, brown to yellowish.

Queen

HW 0.65 HL 0.75 SL 0.44 EL 0.14 WL 0.83 GL 0.96 TL 3.12 CI 87 SI 68.

As worker with the typical modifications of myrmicine queen. Central anterior portion of promesonotum smooth and shining, posterior area with longitudinal rugulae. Metanotum coarsely rugo-reticulate. Pronotum rugo-reticulate. Sides of mesosoma with striation more or less longitudinal, most of katepisternum smooth and shining.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
  • Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
  • Fernández, F. 2003. Revision of the myrmicinae ants of the Adelomyrmex genus-group. Zootaxa 361: 1-52.
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Herrera H. W., and J. T. Longino. 2008. New records of introduced ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Galapagos Islands. Galapagos Research 65: 16-19.
  • INBio Collection (via Gbif)
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Longino J. T. 2012. A review of the ant genus Adelomyrmex Emery 1897 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Central America. Zootaxa 3456: 1-35
  • Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
  • Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
  • Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
  • Mann W. M. 1922. Ants from Honduras and Guatemala. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 61: 1-54.
  • Menozzi C. 1931. Contribuzione alla conoscenza del microgenton di Costa Rica. III. Hymenoptera - Formicidae. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici. 25: 259-274.
  • Philpott, S.M., P. Bichier, R. Rice, and R. Greenberg. 2007. Field testing ecological and economic benefits of coffee certification programs. Conservation Biology 21: 975-985.
  • Smith M. R. 1947. Ants of the genus Apsychomyrmex Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 17: 468-473.
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133