Lepisiota capensis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Lepisiota capensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Plagiolepidini
Genus: Lepisiota
Species: L. capensis
Binomial name
Lepisiota capensis
(Mayr, 1862)

Lepisiota capensis casent0146042 profile 1.jpg

Lepisiota capensis casent0146042 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Subspecies
At a Glance • Limited invasive  

Identification

Distribution

Wachkoo et al. (2021) - The nominal form of L. capensis does not occur naturally in India, despite its implied presence by the use of the name L. capensis reported by Bingham (1903). The species referred to in the latter paper, with abundant yellowish erect setae is clearly not L. capensis, which has sparse dark (brown or black) erect setae (see Mayr 1862, 1865; Arnold 1920) and is distributed in southern Africa (not from the Himalayas through to Northeastern Africa).

Bingham’s (1903) report was apparently based on an erroneous reporting of the presence of L. capensis with whitish setae in India and Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) by Forel (1892, 1894), and the attribution of dense pilosity to L. capensis served only to perpetuate this error until today (Peter Hawkes & F. Hita Garcia, pers. comm.).

The Indian material currently and in the past attributed to L. capensis in fact represents a very different species, now known to be Lepisiota mayri.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 32.812778° to -34.76667°.

     
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Botswana, Comoros, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa (type locality).
Malagasy Region: Madagascar.
Palaearctic Region: Canary Islands, China.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • This species is a host for the encyrtid wasp Anagyrus lopezi (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (associate).
  • This species is a host for the cricket Myrmophilellus meneliki (a myrmecophile) in Ethiopia (Reichensperger, 1913).
  • This species is a prey for the syrphid fly Paramixogaster acantholepidis (a predator) (Quevillon, 2018).

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • capensis. Acantholepis capensis Mayr, 1862: 699 (w.) SOUTH AFRICA. Mayr, 1865: 57 (m.); Emery, 1877b: 366 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1980: 542 (l.). Combination in Lepisiota: Xu, 1994c: 233. Current subspecies: nominal plus acholli, anceps, guineensis, issore, junodi, laevis, lunaris, minuta, simplex, simplicoides, specularis, subopaciceps, thoth. See also: Bingham, 1903: 316; Arnold, 1920a: 568.

Description

Prins 1983. Figure 4 - Proventriculus.

Karyotype

  • 2n = 18 (India) (Imai et al., 1984) (as Acantholepis lunaris).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bernard F. 1950. Contribution à l'étude de l'Aïr. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mém. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire 10: 284-294.
  • Bernard F. 1977. Trois fourmis nouvelles du Sahara (Hym. Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 82: 29-32.
  • Bernard F., and H. Cagniant. 1963. Capture au Hoggar de trois Acantholepis nouveaux pour ce massif avec observations sur leurs modes de vie (Hym. Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 67: 161-164.
  • Bernard, F., and H. Cagniant. "Capture au Hoggar de trois Acantholepis nouveaux pour ce massif avec observations sur leurs modes de vie (Hym. Formicidae)." Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 67 (1963): 161-164.
  • Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, M. Bharti, and M. Pfeiffer. 2013. Ant species richness, endemicity and functional groups, along an elevational gradient in the Himalayas. Asian Myrmecology 5: 79-101.
  • Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
  • Cheng D., Z. Chen, and S. Zhou. 2015. An analysis on the ant fauna of Jinzhongshan Nature Reserve in Gunagxi, China. Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition 33(3): 129.137.
  • Dad J. M., S. A. Akbar, H. Bharti, and A. A. Wachkoo. 2019. Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites ofWestern Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 39: 219–228.
  • Dean W. R. J., and J. S. Turner. 1991. Ants nesting under stones in the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa: predator avoidance or temperature benefits? Journal of Arid Environments 21: 59-69.
  • Diame L., B. Taylor, R. Blatrix, J. F. Vayssieres, J. Y. Rey, I. Grechi, and K. Diarra. 2017. A preliminary checklist of the ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) fauna of Senegal. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 5(15): 1-16.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2006. Current taxonomic status of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. The Fauna of Sri Lanka: 43-52. Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (Editor), 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation. The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. viii + 308pp.
  • Dias R. K. S., K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. p11-19.
  • Dias R. K. S., and K. R. K. Anuradha Kosgamage. 2012. Occurrence and species diversity of ground-dwelling worker ants (Family: Formicidae) in selected lands in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. J. Sci. Univ. Kelaniya 7: 55-72.
  • Dias R. K. S., and R. P. K. C. Rajapaksa. 2016. Geographic records of subfamilies, genera and species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the four climatic zones of Sri Lanka: a review. J. Sci. Univ. Kelaniya 11(2): 23-45.
  • Dias, R.K.S. 2006. Overview of ant research in Sri Lanka: 2000-2004. ANeT Newsletter 8:7-10
  • Emery C. 1895. Voyage de M. E. Simon dans l'Afrique australe (janvier-avril 1893). 3e mémoire. Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 64: 15-56.
  • Emery, C.. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte prima. Formiche provenienti dal Viaggio dei signori Antinori, Beccari e Issel nel Mar Rosso e nel paese dei Bogos. [concl.]." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 9 (1877): 363-381.
  • Emery, C.. "Viaggio ad Assab nel Mar Rosso dei Signori G. Doria ed O. Beccari con il R. Avviso "Esploratore" dal 16 novembre 1879 al 26 febbraio 1880. I. Formiche." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 16 (1881): 525-535.
  • Finzi B. 1939. Materiali zoologici dell'Eritrea raccolti da G. Müller durante la spedizione dell'Istituto Sieroterapico Milanese e conservati al Museo di Trieste. Parte III. Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Atti del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste 14: 153-168.
  • Forel A. 1894. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part IV. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 8: 396-420.
  • Forel A. 1901. Einige neue Ameisen aus Südbrasilien, Java, Natal und Mossamedes. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 10: 297-311.
  • Forel A. 1901. Einige neue Ameisen aus Südbrasilien, Java, Natal und Mossamedes. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 10: 297-311.
  • Forel A. 1903. Einige neue Ameisen aus Sud-Angola. Pp 559-564, in: Baum, H. Kunene-Sambesi-Expedition, 1903. Berlin: Verlag des Kolonial-Wirtschaftlichen Komitees, 593pp.
  • Forel A. 1904. Note sur les fourmis du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences à St. Pétersbourg. Ezheg. Zool. Muz. 8: 368-388.
  • Forel A. 1907. Ameisen von Madagaskar, den Comoren und Ostafrika. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse. Reise in Ostafrika 2: 75-92.
  • Forel A. 1909. Fourmis du Musée de Bruxelles. Fourmis de Benguela récoltées par M. Creighton Wellman, et fourmis du Congo récoltées par MM. Luja, Kohl et Laurent. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 53: 51-73.
  • Forel A. 1910. Ameisen aus der Kolonie Erythräa. Gesammelt von Prof. Dr. K. Escherich (nebst einigen in West-Abessinien von Herrn A. Ilg gesammelten Ameisen). Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 29: 243-274.
  • Forel A. 1910. Zoologische und anthropologische Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise im westlichen und zentralen Südafrika ausgeführt in den Jahren 1903-1905 von Dr. Leonhard Schultze. Vierter Band. Systematik und Tiergeographie. D) Formicidae. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 16: 1-30.
  • Forel A. 1913. Formicides du Congo Belge récoltés par MM. Bequaert, Luja, etc. Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels). 2: 306-351.
  • Forel A. 1914. Formicides d'Afrique et d'Amérique nouveaux ou peu connus. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 50: 211-288.
  • French K., and R. E. Major. 2001. Effect of an exotic Acacia (Fabaceae) on ant assemblages in South African fynbos. Austral Ecology 26: 303–310.
  • Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 2013.The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History, 101(2): 127-222
  • Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
  • IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
  • Imai H. T., C. Baroni Urbani, M. Kubota, G. P. Sharma, M. H. Narasimhanna, B. C. Das, A. K. Sharma, A. Sharma, G. B. Deodikar, V. G. Vaidya, and M. R. Rajasekarasetty. 1984. Karyological survey of Indian ants. Japanese Journal of Genetics 59: 1-32.
  • Koen J. H., and W. Breytenbach. 1988. Ant species richness of fynbos and forest ecosystems in the Southern Cape. South Afr. Tydskr. Dierk. 23(3): 184-188.
  • Kouakou L. M. M., K. Yeo, K. Ouattara, W. Dekoninck, T. Delsinne, and S. Konate. 2018. Investigating urban ant community (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in port cities and in major towns along the border in Côte d’Ivoire: a rapid assessment to detect potential introduced invasive ant species. Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences 36(1): 5793-5811.
  • Kouakou L. M. M., W. Dekoninck, M. Kone, T. Delsinne, K. Yeo, K. Ouattara, and S. Konate. 2018. Diversity and distribution of introduced and potentially invasive ant species from the three main ecoregions of Côte d’Ivoire (West Africa). Belgian Journal of Zoology 148 (1): 83–103.
  • Lach, L. 2008. Argentine ants displace floral arthropods in a biodiversity hotspot. Diversity and Distributions 14:281-290
  • Li Q., B. D. Hoffmann, Z. X. Lu, and Y. Q. Chen. 2017. Ants show that the conservation potential of afforestation efforts in Chinese valley-type savanna is dependent upon the afforestation method. Journal of Insect Conservation DOI 10.1007/s10841-017-0005-0
  • Li Q., Z. Lu, Z. Wei, M. Yanyan, and F. Ping. 2015. Communities of ground-dwelling ants in different plantation forest in arid-hot valleys of Jinsha river, Yunnan Province, China. Scientia Silvae Sinicae 51(8): 134-142.
  • Li Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
  • Lu Z., B. D. Hoffmann, and Y. Chen. 2016. Can reforested and plantation habitats effectively conserve SW China’s ant biodiversity? Biodivers. Conserv. DOI 10.1007/s10531-016-1090-1
  • Lu Z., K. Li, N. Zhang, and Y. Chen. 2017. Diversity and indicator species of leaf-litter ants in Eucalyptus grandis plantations and secondary natural forests. Forest Research 29(4): 576-580
  • Lu Z., Y. Chen, Q. Li, S. Wang, C. Liu, and W. Zhang. 2012. Effect of population of Kerria yunnanensis on diversity of ground dwelling ant. Acta Ecologica Sinica 32(19): 6195-6202.
  • Lévieux J. 1977. La nutrition des fourmis tropicales: V- Elements de synthèse. Les modes d'exploitation de la biocenose. Insectes Sociaux 24(3): 235-260.
  • Madl M. 2019. Notes on the ant fauna of Eritrea (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): type specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) and a preliminary checklist. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 9-18.
  • Mathew R. 2003. On Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Nongkhyllem Wild Life Sanctuary, Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 101:195-207.
  • Mathew R., and R. N. Tiwari. 2000. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 251-409 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 2000. Fauna of of Meghalaya. Part 7. [State Fauna Series 4.] Insecta 2000. Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, 621 pp.
  • Pajni H. R., and R. K. Suri. 1978. First report on the Formicid fauna (Hymenoptera) of Chandigarh. Res. Bull. (Science) Punjab University 29: 5-12.
  • Rajan P. D., M. Zacharias, and T. M. Mustak Ali. 2006. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Fauna of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka). Conservation Area Series, Zool. Surv. India.i-iv,27: 153-188.
  • Ran H., and S. Y. Zhou. 2012. Checklist of chinese ants: formicomorph subfamilies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) II. Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition 30(4): 81-91.
  • Santschi F. 1914. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 309-385.
  • Santschi, F.. "Résultats de la Mission scientifique suisse en Angola, 1928-1929. Formicides de l'Angola." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 37 (1930): 53-81.
  • Song Y., Z. Xu, C. Li, N. Zhang, L. Zhang, H. Jiang, and F. Mo. 2013. An Analysis on the Ant Fauna of the Nangun river Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. Forest Research 26(6): 773-780.
  • Taylor B. 1978. Ants of the Nigerian Forest Zone (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). II. Formicinae, Dolichoderinae. Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria Research Bulletin 5: 1-57.
  • Taylor B., and S. F. Adedoyin. 1978. The abundance and interspecific relations of common ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on cocoa farms in western Nigeria. Bull. Ent. Res. 68: 105-121.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004
  • Wu Z. W., X. D. Bi, X. He, Z. X. Lu, L. J. Wei, and Y. Q Chen. 2015. Impact of continuous fire disturbance on ground-dwelling ant communities in arid-hot valleys of Panzhihua, Sichuan. Journal of Yunnan University 37(3): 467-474.
  • Xu Z., Zeng G., Liu T.-Y. and He Y.-F.. 1999. [A study on communities of Formicidae ants in different subtypes of vegetation in Xishuangbanna District of China.] Zoological Research 20: 118-125
Retrieved from "https://antwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Lepisiota_capensis&oldid=707576"