Crematogaster punctulata

Crematogaster punctulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Crematogaster
Species:	C. punctulata
Binomial name
Crematogaster punctulata Emery, 1895 Specimen labels

These ants nest in soil or under stones and logs. Brood has been found in August, sexuals were found from August to September. Flights were reported in May (Wheeler, 1908) at 11:00 MST. Foragers tend membracids on sunflowers, as well as coccids and aphids. They commonly forage on chollo (Opuntia sp.). Two nests where found together with Lasius sitiens. (Gregg, 1963, MacKay & Mackay, 2002)

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to North American Crematogaster species

Distribution

In New Mexico these ants have been found in mesquite forest (including dunes), pinyon pine, juniper forests shinnery oak forest, cottonwood forests, grasslands.

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

Nomenclature

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

• punctulata. Crematogaster punctulata Emery, 1895c: 287 (w.) U.S.A.
  • Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 141;
  • combination in C. (Crematogaster): Buren, 1968b: 92.
  • Subspecies of opaca: Wheeler, W.M. 1919g: 111.
  • Subspecies of lineolata: Creighton, 1950a: 214.
  • Senior synonym of texana: Creighton, 1950a: 214.
  • Junior synonym of lineolata: Johnson, C. 1988: 319.
  • Status as species: Enzmann, J. 1946c: 93; Buren, in Smith, M.R. 1958c: 127; Buren, 1968b: 92, 93 (in key); Smith, D.R. 1979: 1380; Bolton, 1995b: 160; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 100.

References

• Buren, W. F. 1968b. A review of the species of Crematogaster, sensu stricto, in North America (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Part II. Descriptions of new species. J. Ga. Entomol. Soc. 3: 91-121 (page 92, Combination in C. (Crematogaster))
• Creighton, W. S. 1950a. The ants of North America. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 104: 1-585 (page 214, Variety\subspecies of opaca)
• Creighton, W. S. 1950a. The ants of North America. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 104: 1-585 (page 214, Senior synonym of texana)
• Emery, C. 1895d. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der nordamerikanischen Ameisenfauna. (Schluss). Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 8: 257-360 (page 287, worker described)
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 141, Combination in C. (Acrocoelia))
• Enzmann, J. 1946c. Crematogaster lineolata cerasi, the cherry ant of Asa Fitsch; (with a survey of the American forms of Crematogaster, subgenus Acrocoelia). J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 54: 89-97 (page 93, revived status as species)
• Johnson, C. 1988. Species identification in the eastern Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Entomol. Sci. 23: 314-332 (page 319, Junior synonym of lineolata)
• Morgan, C.E., Mackay, W.P. 2017. The North American Acrobat Ants of the hyperdiverse genus Crematogaster (Hymneoptera: Formicidae). Lambert Academic Publishing (PDF version, 532 pp.)
• Smith, M. R. 1958c. Family Formicidae. Pp. 108-162 in: Krombein, K. V. (ed.) Hymenoptera of America north of Mexico. Synoptic catalogue. First supplement. U. S. Dep. Agric. Agric. Monogr. 2(suppl. 1):1-305. (page 127, Revived status as species)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1919h. A new paper-making Crematogaster from the southeastern United States. Psyche (Camb.) 26: 107-112 (page 111, Variety\subspecies of opaca)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
• Morgan C., and W. P. Mackay. 2017. The North America acrobat ants of the hyperdiverse genus Crematogaster. Mauritius: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing, 540 pp.