Dolichoderus ypsilon

Dolichoderus ypsilon
Dolichoderus ypsilon
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Dolichoderini
Genus:	Dolichoderus
Species group:	scabridus
Species:	D. ypsilon
Binomial name
Dolichoderus ypsilon Forel, 1902 Specimen labels

This species is restricted to south-west Western Australia. The male was described by Forel (1907).

Photo Gallery

• 

  A Dolichoderus ypsilon worker tackles with what appears to be a fly larvae, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 10 July 2011.

Identification

A member of the Dolichoderus scabridus species group.

Pronotum rounded, lacking spines; propodeum with elongate spines directed upward at angle of 45° or less to horizontal plane, the angle between them at least 90°; dorsum of petiolar node angular, base of propodeal spines forming a "V" with a narrowly rounded angle connecting their bases; legs entirely light red or orange.

This species can be distinguished from Dolichoderus inferus and Dolichoderus scabridus by the dorsum of its petiolar node being angular rather than broad, and the base of the propodeal spines forming a narrowly angled "V" rather than a broad "U" when viewed from the front. Additionally, D. ypsilon can be distinguished from Dolichoderus rufotibialis and Dolichoderus niger by the distinctive colour of its entirely red or orange legs.

Identification Keys including this Taxon

• Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -28.4535° to -34.9°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (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.

Nomenclature

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

• ypsilon. Dolichoderus scabridus r. ypsilon Forel, 1902h: 461 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Forel, 1907h: 284 (m.). Combination in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1913a: 13; in D. (Diceratoclinea): Wheeler, W.M. 1935c: 69. Subspecies of scabridus: Forel, 1915b: 76. Raised to species: Forel, 1907h: 284; Clark, 1930b: 258.

Type Material

• Syntype, 1 worker, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 31°57′0″S 115°51′0″E, Chase, ANIC32-015061, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Syntype, 3 workers, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 31°57′0″S 115°51′0″E, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Syntype, 1 worker, Lion Hill, South Australia, Australia, 31°53′0″S 116°12′0″E, Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Description

Worker

Clark (1930) - Black. Legs and spines red, mandibles and coxae darker red.

Shining. Head punctate, the punctures shallow, the spaces between them finely reticulate. Pronotum and mesonotum with somewhat similar punctures, but more scattered. Top of the node coarsely rugose. Gaster microscopically punctate.

Hair yellow, long and erect, abundant throughout, shorter and suberect on the antennae and legs. Pubescence very fine and adpressed on the antennae, coxae and legs, longer and more abundant on the gaster, where it forms a yellowish clothing, not hiding the sculpture.

Head slightly longer than broad, the occipital border and sides convex. Frontal carinae short and parallel, as long as their distance apart. Clypeus with a distinct median groove from the base to the anterior border, the latter convex with a deep excision in the middle. Scapes extending beyond the occipital border by one-third of their length; first segment of the funiculus one-fourth longer than the second, and twice as long as the third. Eyes globular, placed at the middle of the sides. The masticatory border of the mandibles furnished with fine denticles; terminal border with strong sharp teeth. Thorax one and two-thirds times longer than broad. Pronotum one-third broader than long, convex above. Mesonotum slightly broader than long, feebly convex above. Epinotum short, as long as broad, furnished with two long sharp spines, directed upward, outward and backward, meeting at their base; in profile the dorsum short, almost fully occupied by the base of the spines, they are nearly straight and rise at an angle of sixty degrees, the declivity abrupt, longer than the basal face. Node fully twice as broad as long, concave in front, convex behind, the dorsum straight; in profile parallel, to near the top, the dorsum and posterior face united in a convexity. Gaster longer than broad, concave in front below. Legs long and slender.

Shattuck and Marsden (2013) - Generally similar but with legs more yellow (slightly less red) in some individuals. Also, a few specimens have the sculpturing on the mesosomal dorsum reduced medially, this region being nearly smooth.

Measurements (n=5). CI 92–96; EI 20–25; EL 0.21–0.29; HL 1.14–1.29; HW 1.05–1.22; ML 1.60–1.81; MTL 0.95–1.15; PronI 69.93–74.15; PronW 0.76–0.90; SI 109–118; SL 1.22–1.36.

Male

Clark (1930) - Yellowish red, gaster darker, apical segments brown.

Opaque. Scutellum, epinotum, node and gaster more or less shining. Head and mesonotum very finely reticulate and with some very shallow scattered punctures.

Hair yellow, erect, abundant throughout. Pubescence whitish, hardly apparent, except on the antennae and legs.

Head almost as broad as long, strongly convex behind and on the sides. Frontal carinae short and erect. Clypeus convex above, produced in front. Eyes very large and convex, occupying a little more than half the sides of the head. Ocelli very large and globular. Scapes fully three times longer than the first segment of the funiculus, and almost twice as long as the second. Mandibles furnished with numerous small sharp teeth. Mesonotum overhanging and hiding the pronotum in front; mayrian furrows not apparent, parapsidal furrows sharply impressed. Scutellum almost circular, broader than long. Epinotum short and broad; in profile convex longitudinally, the declivity abrupt, as long as the dorsum. Node one and one-third times broader than long. Gaster much longer than broad. Cerci long and stout. Outer and middle processes of the genitalia slender, strongly curved downward at the points. Wings hyaline, with a slight smoky tinge. Legs long and slender.

References

• Dill, M. 2002. Taxonomy of the migrating herdsman species of the genus Dolichoderus Lund, 1831, with remarks on the systematics of other Southeast-Asian Dolichoderus. Pp. 17-113 in: Dill, M., Williams, D. J. and U. Maschwitz. 2002. Herdsmen ants and their mealybug partners. Abhandlungen der Senckenbergischen Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Frankfurt am Main. 557:1-373.
• Clark, J. 1930b. The Australian ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Formicidae). Sugenus Hypoclinea Mayr. Aust. Zool. 6: 252-268 (page 258, Raised to species)
• Emery, C. 1913a [1912]. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50 (page 13, Combination in D. (Hypoclinea))
• Forel, A. 1902j. Fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 405-548 (page 461, worker described)
• Forel, A. 1907j. Formicidae. In: Michaelsen, W., Hartmeyer, R. (eds.) Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Band I, Lieferung 7. Jena: Gustav Fischer, pp. 263-310. (page 284, male described)
• Forel, A. 1907j. Formicidae. In: Michaelsen, W., Hartmeyer, R. (eds.) Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Band I, Lieferung 7. Jena: Gustav Fischer, pp. 263-310. (page 284, Raised to species)
• Forel, A. 1915b. Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Ark. Zool. 9(1 16: 1-119 (page 76, Race of scabridus)
• Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
• Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
• Shattuck, S.O. & Marsden, S. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716, 101–143 (doi 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1).
• Wheeler, W. M. 1935c. Myrmecological notes. Psyche (Camb.) 42: 68-72 (page 69, Combination in D. (Diceratoclinea))

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Clark J. 1930. The Australian ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Formicidae). Sugenus Hypoclinea Mayr. Australian Zoologist 6: 252-268.
• Forel A. 1902. Fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 405-548.
• Forel A. 1915. Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Ark. Zool. 9(16): 1-119
• Shattuck S. O. 1994. Taxonomic catalog of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae and Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 112: i-xix, 1-241.
• Shattuck S. O., and S. Marsden. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716(2): 101-143.