Leptanilla judaica

Leptanilla judaica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Leptanillinae
Tribe:	Leptanillini
Genus:	Leptanilla
Species:	L. judaica
Binomial name
	Leptanilla judaica; Kugler, J., 1987 Specimen Labels

The type material was collected from under a stone.

Identification

Kugler (1987) - Leptanilla judaica is similar to Leptanilla escheri (Kutter 1948) in the shape of the clypeal lobe, the mandibular dentition, the form of the petiole and postpetiole, and the form of the maxillary palp as described and figured by Kutter. It differs from L. escheri and all other Leptanilla species by having a depression and a suture between the mesonotum and propodeum. The pilosity of L. escheri is much more conspicuous, denser, and with long semierect hairs (in addition to the appressed hairs) on the antennae, head, petiole, postpetiole and gaster.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Israel (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Biology

Castes

Qian et al. (2024), Fig. 32: Leptanilla judaica paratype worker. (A, D) head in full-face view; (B, E) body in lateral view; (C, F) body in dorsal view. (A - C) illustrations redrawn from Kugler (1987), slightly modified with legs omitted; (D - F) images from AntWeb (2022), CASENT 0902780, photos by Zach Lieberman.

Nomenclature

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

judaica. Leptanilla judaica Kugler, J. 1987: 46, figs. 1-4 (w.l.) ISRAEL.

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

Description

Worker

Length: 1.9-2 mm.

Colour: Pale yellow to orange, shiny. The short pilosity is pale yellowish.

Head: Wider than alitrunk, 1.3 times longer than wide; lateral margins convex, hind margin straight. The middle part of the clypeus is convex, protruding anteriorly as a large elevated lobe, ending in 2 short, .wide lobes with a concave margin between them; antenna 12-segmented, scapus as long as the 4 proximal funicular segments together; funicular segments except the last segment, as wide as long; last segment slightly longer than the 2 penultimate segments together; mandibles long, with 3 teeth: a long and narrow apical tooth, a small median tooth and a large basal tooth. A very small, toothlike tubercule may be present between the apical and median tooth and between the median and basal tooth. Maxillary palp strongly constricted in the middle, apparently 2 segmented, labial palp I-segmented (Fig. 3).

Alitrunk: Pronotum in dorsal view (Fig. 2) almost as wide as long, separated by a deep furrow from the short mesonotum, which is 1/2 as long as the pronotum; between the meso no tum and propodeum, a weak propodeal depression and suture visible; in lateral view (Fig. 1) the dorsal margin of the prothorax convex, the dorsal margin of the rest of the alitrunk is nearly straight; the posterior margin of the mesothorax is differentiated.

Legs: Femora swollen, mid and hind tibiae with 1 large pectinated spur, in some specimens a second, small, simple spur is visible.

Petiole: Petiolar node dorsally convex, 1.2 times longer than wide, ventrally with a forwardly directed, toothlike protuberance; postpetiolar node in dorsal view nearly circular; in lateral view the dorsal margin is strongly convex, the ventral margin forming a large, convex, anteriorly directed bulge.

Gaster: Egg-shaped with a protruding sting.

Pilosity: Short and suberect on the antennae, not very conspicuously appressed on head and body.

Larva

Very similar to the larva of Leptanilla escheri as described by Kutter (1948) and Wheeler and Wheeler (1965). Body elongated and slender up to 2 mm in length, narrow anteriorly, much wider and club-like posteriorly; head small, mandibles feebly sclerotized, with a narrow, pointed apical tooth, and a comb of several narrow teeth of different lengths. Prothorax with a large flaplike ventral projection bearing many transverse ridges. Head bare; body covered with fine short hairs, in addition, there are several long bristle-like hairs on each of the body segments. No spiracles are visible.

Type Material

Holotype worker; Judean Hills, 10 km N. of Ramallah, 30.111.1969, collected beneath a stone, A. Barash. Paratypes (29 workers and 15 larvae) with the same collecting data as the holotype. Holotype and most paratypes (25 workers and 15 larvae) are deposited in the TAU. Two workers are deposited in the The Natural History Museum and 2 workers in the Museum of Comparative Zoology.

References

Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Griebenow, Z. 2020. Delimitation of tribes in the subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a description of the male of Protanilla lini Terayama, 2009. Myrmecological News 30: 229-250. (doi:10.25849/MYRMECOL.NEWS_030:229).
Griebenow, Z. 2024. Systematic revision of the ant subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 1189, 83–184 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1189.107506).
Griebenow, Z.H., Isaia, M., Moradmand, M. 2022. A remarkable troglomorphic ant, Yavnella laventa sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanillinae), identified as the first known worker of Yavnella Kugler by phylogenomic inference. Invertebrate Systematics 36(12), 1118-1138 (doi:10.1071/is22035).
Kugler, J. 1987 [1986]. The Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Israel and a description of a new species from India. Isr. J. Entomol. 20: 45-57 (page 46, figs. 1-4 worker, larva described)
Qian, Y.-H., Zheng-Hui, X., Man, P., Liu, G.-L. 2024. Three new species of the ant genus Leptanilla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from China, with a key to the world species. Myrmecological News 34: 21-44 (doi:10.25849/MYRMECOL.NEWS_034:021).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Kugler J. 1987. The Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Israel and a description of a new species from India. Israel Journal of Entomology 20: 45-57.
Scupola A., and R. Ballarin. 2009. The genus Leptanilla Emery, 1870 in Sicily (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 12: 129-132.
Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.