Forelius pruinosus

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Forelius pruinosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Tribe: Leptomyrmecini
Genus: Forelius
Species: F. pruinosus
Binomial name
Forelius pruinosus
(Roger, 1863)

Forelius pruinosus casent0005320 profile 1.jpg

Forelius pruinosus casent0005320 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms


Common Name
High Noon Ant
Language: English

Colonies typically inhabit large polygnynous ground nests. Disorganized small soil craters may also be found at the entrance to some uncovered ground nest entrances. Their predilection for open habitats leads to Forelius pruinosus being a common ant in many anthropogenic and disturbed habitats.

At a Glance • Polygynous  

Identification

Similar in form to Tapinoma but the small petiole, partially hidden by the gaster, is larger in comparison to the almost nonexistent petiolar node of Tapinoma.

Forelius from the western United States and northern Mexico are part of a species complex that is in need of taxonomic revision. The form we currently assign to Forelius pruinosus, at least in the southwest, likely includes pruinosus and one or more undescribed species. This species group can be distinguished from Forelius mccooki by a lack of standing hairs on the scape.

Ward (2005) provides his evaluation of the western North American Forelius species: After examining a large series of Forelius from the United States and northern Mexico I can find no consistent difference in worker head shape: the posterior margin of the head varies continuously from weakly convex through straight to weakly concave. Color is also variable, ranging from dark brown to yellowish-orange. Some nest series contain both light and dark-colored workers. It is possible that the California populations are not conspecific with F. pruinosus (described from Cuba), but these and other western samples seem to grade insensibly into material from farther east and south, including populations in Florida and the West Indies with consistently dark and densely pubescent workers, which correspond to 'F. pruinosus' (s.s.). The complex needs further study but because reliable diagnostic differences have not yet been uncovered I treat F. analis (type locality Chihuahua, Mexico) as a junior synonym of F. pruinosus (syn. nov.).

Identification Keys including this Taxon

Distribution

United States, Mexico, Caribbean and possibly South America. Described from Cuban specimens, the species as currently understood occurs in portions of the northern United States (records exist as far north as Long Island and North Dakota), throughout the southern United States, Cuba, Mexico and possible into South America.

Jack Longino: This species occurs in the most arid portions of Costa Rica. Jenny Jacobs collected it on some of the small islands near the Santa Elena Peninsula, and Phil Ward collected it near Playa Nancite in Santa Rosa National Park.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 47.79° to -19.6°.

     
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States.
Neotropical Region: Cuba (type locality), Mexico.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

Biology

Forelius pruinosus, senso lato, is an arid, open habitat ant that thrives in hot and dry conditions. Forelius species in the southwestern U.S. are active in the hottest part of the day, foraging and running along trails at temperatures that other co-occurring species cannot tolerate. Foraging does not take place at night, presumably because of cooler temperatures. Trunk trails are used by foragers with workers searching for food on the ground and on vegetation. Foragers are general scavengers that will tend aphids and feed from plant nectaries.

M.R. Smith (1965), reporting on eastern U.S. ant pests, provides this description of their biology: The ants seem to prefer open habitats such as fields, meadows, pastures, and entirely bare areas, and will also nest in open woods out of dense and prolonged shade. Nests are constructed in exposed soil or soil under the cover of stones, other objects, and under the bark of logs and stumps. Entrance holes of nests in the soil commonly have crater-shaped mounds of earth surrounding them, but the craters may be imperfectly shaped, or the ground may be more or less bare. Colonies are small to moderate-sized. Males and winged females have been observed in Florida from May into July. Workers are very fond of honeydew, and tend honeydew-excreting insects; they also live on both live and dead insects. The very agile, fast-moving workers form pronounced foraging trails. M. S. Blum, in a letter to the author, wrote that the ants lay down on their foraging trails a methyl-n-amyl ketone substance, which is emitted from the gaster. Workers have been induced to follow artificial trails on which this synthetic chemical has been placed. The odor emitted by live or freshly killed workers has been likened to that of rotton coconuts and is similar to the odor of ants of the genus Tapinoma.

This species is a house pest particularly in the Gulf Coast States. Most frequently the ants invade houses from outdoors, but it is quite likely that they may nest within houses as well. Although workers feed on most of the foods commonly eaten by ants, they seem to show a preference for sweets.

Some of this account is curious, as the species is not known to be much of a house pest today. The reported nesting locations under wood or stones is also interesting. Most of the forms of this ant do not prefer such microsites.

Roeder et al. (2018) in an Oklahoma study found the CTmax (critical thermal maximum) for this species was 56.0 ± 0.3 C and the average worker mass was 0.099 ± 0.004 mg.

Forelius pruinosus is known to remove seeds (Atchison & Lucky, 2022; Stamp & Lucas, 1990; Stuble et al., 2010).

Regional Notes

New Mexico

Mackay and Mackay (2002) - Habitat Widely distributed in many habitats in New Mexico. Most common in arid habitats (desert scrub, including open weedy areas, grama grasslands, fluff grass areas, creosote scrub, mesquite woodlands), although also occurs in Juniper, sagebrush, riparian and even into pine forests. Biology This ant usually nests in the soil, in open areas, but may be found nesting under stones. The nest usually consists of a small mound (diameter of few cms) with the entrance hole in the center. Reproductives were found in nests from May to August. Multiple queens are present in nests. The habits are very similar to those of Forelius mccooki. Food consists of living and dead insects; this species also tends Homoptera and feeds on flower nectar. It can be a serious house pest.

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a host for the Microdon fly Microdon fuscipennis (a predator) in Georgia (Macquart, 1834).
  • This species is a host for the cestode Raillietina tetragona (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode secondary; indirect transmission; transmission outside nest).

Flight Period

X X X X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: monogynous (Rissing and Pollock, 1988; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Worker

Mcz-ent00668513 Forelius pruinosus hef.jpgMcz-ent00668513 Forelius pruinosus hal.jpgMcz-ent00668513 Forelius pruinosus had.JPGMcz-ent00668513 Forelius pruinosus lbs.jpg
Worker. . Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Forelius pruinosus casent0103169 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103169 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103169 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103169 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0103169. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.
Forelius pruinosus casent0103912 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103912 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103912 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103912 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0103912. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.
Forelius pruinosus casent0196149 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196149 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196149 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196149 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0196149. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Forelius pruinosus casent0196151 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196151 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196151 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0196151 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0196151. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Forelius pruinosus psw14182-1 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus psw14182-1 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus psw14182-1 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus psw14182-1 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code psw14182-1. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Forelius pruinosus casent0103908 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103908 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103908 profile 2.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103908 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0103908 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0103908. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Forelius pruinosus casent0102698 head 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0102698 profile 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0102698 profile 2.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0102698 dorsal 1.jpgForelius pruinosus casent0102698 label 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0102698. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • pruinosus. Tapinoma pruinosum Roger, 1863a: 165 (w.) CUBA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 185 (l.). Combination in Iridomyrmex: Wheeler, W.M. 1913b: 497; in Forelius: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 13; Shattuck, 1992c: 95. Senior synonym of testaceus: Cuezzo, 2000: 261; of analis: Ward, 2005: 9. See also: Creighton, 1950a: 342; Petralia & Vinson, 1980: 386; Guerrero & Fernández, 2008: 57.
  • analis. Tapinoma anale André, 1893b: 148 (w.) MEXICO. Combination in Iridomyrmex: Forel, 1908b: 62; in Forelius: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 13. Subspecies of pruinosus: Emery, 1895c: 333; Wheeler, W.M. 1913b: 497; Creighton, 1950a: 343; Shattuck, 1994: 96. Junior synonym of pruinosus: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986g: 13; Bolton, 1995b: 190. Status as species: Forel, 1908b: 62; Emery, 1913a: 26; Cuezzo, 2000: 222. Junior synonym of pruinosus: Ward, 2005: 9.
  • testaceus. Iridomyrmex pruinosus var. testaceus Cole, 1936b: 121 (w.q.) U.S.A. Junior synonym of analis: Creighton, 1950a: 343; of pruinosus: Cuezzo, 2000: 261.

Description

Etymology

Descriptive. pruinosus translates to "covered with hoarfrost" and this presumably describes the dense pubescence that covers the workers

Worker Morphology

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • Caste: monomorphic

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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