Dorymyrmex reginicula

Dorymyrmex reginicula
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Leptomyrmecini
Genus:	Dorymyrmex
Species:	D. reginicula
Binomial name
Dorymyrmex reginicula (Trager, 1988) Specimen Labels

A poorly collected, and relatively poorly known biologically, Florida Dorymyrmex species. It is a social parasite of Dorymyrmex bureni and possibly Dorymyrmex bossutus.

Identification

Trager (1988) - Worker strongly resembling Dorymyrmex medeis (=Dorymyrmex smithi) (compare figures to those of D. medeis); distinguished by slightly longer scapes, somewhat narrower, shiny, reddish head, and reddish thorax; if queens present, their small size and narrow head are definitive (queens large with very broad head in D. medeis).

D. reginicula workers differ from those of D. medeis in that the sides of the head lack pubescence or it is notably thinned, even above the level of the eye, while the pubescence normally extends down the sides of the head nearly or indeed to the eye in D. medeis. In addition, the narrower head, longer scapes, weak, but distinct red and black bicoloration, overall greater shininess of the workers and diminutive, slender-headed queens of D. reginicula will normally distinguish this species from D. medeis, though occasional individual workers may cause difficulty.

Snelling (1985) - In both workers and females of D. reginicula, the front of the head is shinier because of the much finer and shorter appressed pubescence. The female of D. reginicula is distinctly smaller than that of Dorymyrmex smithi (HW 0.98-1.03 versus 1.23-1.32 mm, respectively). In females of D. reginicula, the scapal pubescence is closely appressed to the shaft, but in D. smithi the hairs are distinctly decumbent to subdecumbent. Although the scapal pubescence is similar in workers of the two species, the scapes of D. smithi workers usually have at least some subdecumbent to decumbent pubescence along the shaft. Trager also noted the proportionately longer scape in workers of D. reginicula (SI over 101 in 80% of individuals) when compared to those of D. smithi (SI less than 101 in 80% of individuals).

Keys including this Species

• Key to Dorymyrmex of SE United States queens
• Key to Dorymyrmex of SE United States workers

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 29.701747° to 25.774266°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (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

Snelling (1995) - Trager established that D. reginicula is a social parasite in nests of Dorymyrmex bureni and possibly Dorymyrmex bossutus and is apparently not known to occur outside of Florida.

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0103899. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

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Nomenclature

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

• reginicula. Conomyrma reginicula Trager, 1988: 27, figs. 7, 14, 17, 18 (w.q.) U.S.A. Combination in Dorymyrmex: Snelling, R.R. 1995: 7. Junior synonym of insanus: Johnson, C. 1989b: 185. Revived from synonymy: Snelling, R.R. 1995: 7.

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

Description

Worker

HL 0.95-1.05, HW 0.86-0.98, SL 0.89-1.00, EL 0.24-0.28, FL 0.80-0.95, WL 1.13-1.28, HTL 2.08-2.29, C1 89.9-.95.1, S1 100.0-111.4, OI 24.5-28.0, F1 80.8-92.2, T1 115.0-128.1. N = 25. Holotype a queen; see measurements below.

General form and characters as in figures and in key; head convex-sided to more or less parallel-sided; scapes short, exceeding occipital corners by 2-3 maximum scape widths, scapes and femora relatively short and thick; thorax short, WL only 1.25 to 1.3X HL; base of propodeal cone thick, at least 1/2X as broad as that part of propodeal profile anterior to it; head shape and thoracic profile less variable than in D. medeis (=Dorymyrmex smithi). Mandibular striation as in D. medeis, with 3 or 4 striae slightly coarser than the 1 or 2 finer striae between each of coarser ones; mandibles not shining; tessellate sculpture of integument barely dulling the surface; pubescence very fine and only weakly dulling sheen of cuticle, especially on head and sides of thorax.

Queen

HL 1.03-1.10 (1.03), HW 0.98-1.08 (0.98), SL 0.98-1.00 (0.98), EL 0.33 (all four), TW 0.73-0.83 (0.73), WL 1. 73-1.83 (1. 73), HTL 2.76-2.94 (2.76), CI 95.1-99.1 (95.1), SI 92.6-100.0 (100.0), OI 30.0-32.0 (32.0), TWI 69.5-80.6 (74.5), TI 166.4-168.0 (168.0). N=4.

Much smaller than any other Dorymyrmex queen among species considered here, but always somewhat larger than even largest workers; head slender, longer than broad; sides faintly convex, convergent toward clypeus; eyes more mesal than in other slender-bodied species, their outer margin 3/4-1 ocellus width from sides of head, never reaching or protruding beyond; occipital border narrower than clypeus, strongly concave; thorax very slender, much narrower than head.

Color, sculpture and investiture as in workers, except reddish head and thorax brighter than normally seen on workers.

Type Material

Holotype and 29 paratypes: Florida, Alachua Co.: Gainesville. November, 1975. W. F. Buren leg. Holotype, Florida State Collection of Arthropods . Paratypes James C. Trager Collection, Florida State Collection of Arthropods , Archbold Biological Station, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, National Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology, American Museum of Natural History.

Etymology

The specific name of this species is a diminutive form of Latin regina (queen), referring to its unusually small queen.

References

• Johnson, C. 1989b. Taxonomy and diagnosis of Conomyrma insana (Buckley) and C. flava (McCook) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 3: 179-194 (page 185, Junior synonym of insanus)
• Snelling, R. R. 1995a. Systematics of Nearctic ants of the genus Dorymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contributions in Science (Los Angeles, Calif.). 454:1-14. (page 7, Combination in Dorymyrmex, Revived from synonymy)
• Trager, J.C. 1988. A revision of Conomyrma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southeastern United States, especially Florida, with keys to the species. Florida Entomologist 71: 11-29. (page 27, figs. 7, 14, 17, 18 worker, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Braman C. A., and B. T. Forschler. 2018. Survey of Formicidae attracted to protein baits on Georgia’s Barrier Island dunes. Southeastern Naturalist 17(4): 645-653.
• Deyrup, M. 2003. An updated list of Florida ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 86(1):43-48.
• Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
• Trager J. C. 1988. A revision of Conomyrma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southeastern United States, especially Florida, with keys to the species. Florida Entomologist 71: 11-29