Aphaenogaster huachucana
| Aphaenogaster huachucana | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Aphaenogaster |
| Species: | A. huachucana |
| Binomial name | |
| Aphaenogaster huachucana Creighton, 1934
| |
Contents
Identification
Aphaenogaster huachucana is similar in appearance to Aphaenogaster texana, but is larger and found nesting in rocky ledges as opposed to A. texana that can be found under logs and rocks. The antennal scapes pass the occipital margin by one-third the length of the scape. (DeMarco, 2015)
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Mexico.
Distribution based on AntMaps
Distribution based on AntWeb specimens
Check data from AntWeb
Biology
This ant forages at dusk and into the night. Nests are often found in steep rocky areas. "It may be added that all the nests of huachucana, including the type nest, were situated on steep slopes. They were placed in shady aspen groves, in the lighter shade of pine groves or in full sun. Some were built in the soil under a covering stone, others in the soil which had accumulated between the stones in a rock slide. In view of the fact that texana is quite fussy about its nest sites, the greater tolerance of huachucana in this respect is surprising" (Creighton, 1952).
Castes
- The following images are provided by Harvard University, Museum of Comparative Zoology
- The following images are provided by AntWeb
Head view
Side view
Top view
Specimen labels
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's New General Catalogue, a catalogue of the world's ants.
- huachucana. Aphaenogaster (Attomyrma) huachucana Creighton, 1934: 189 (w.) U.S.A.
- Creighton, 1952a: 94 (q.m.).
Description
References
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 70, catalogue)
- Creighton, W. S. 1934. Descriptions of three new North American ants with certain ecological observations on previously described forms. Psyche (Camb.) 41: 185-200 PDF (page 189, worker described)
- Creighton, W. S. 1952a [1951]. Studies on Arizona ants. 2. New data on the ecology of Aphaenogaster huachucana and a description of the sexual forms. Psyche (Camb.) 58: 89-99 PDF(page 94, queen, male described)
- DeMarco, B.B. 2015. Phylogeny of North American Aphaenogaster species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) reconstructed with morphological and DNA data. Ph.D. thesis, Michigan State University.
