Lepisiota

Lepisiota
	Lepisiota capensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Plagiolepidini
Genus:	Lepisiota; Santschi, 1926
Type species
	Plagiolepis rothneyi, now Lepisiota rothneyi;
Subgenera
	Baroniurbania Pagliano & Scaramozzino, 1990; Lepisiota Santschi, 1926;
Diversity
	147 species; (Species Checklist, Species by Country) Lepisiota capensis Specimen Label
Synonyms
	Acantholepis Mayr, 1861;

Evolutionary Relationships

Formicinae

Myrmelachistini
(2 genera)

Lasiini
(11 genera)

Melophorini
(9 genera)

Formicini
(8 genera)

Gesomyrmex, Oecophylla

Plagiolepidini

Anoplolepis
(15 species)

Tapinolepis
(18 species)

	Aphomomyrmex (1 species)

	Petalomyrmex (1 species)

Lepisiota
(147 species)

	Acropyga (41 species)

	Agraulomyrmex (3 species)

	Gigantiops, Myrmoteras, Santschiella

	Camponotini (8 genera)

Based on Ward et al. 2016.

Hita Garcia, Wiesel and Fischer (2013) - The genus Lepisiota is distributed in the Old World and is of moderate size (Bolton, 2012). They nest in rotten wood, in the ground, or in standing trees, and can be considered as generalised foragers (Bolton, 1973a; Brown, 2000). They are especially abundant in less forested habitats, such as grasslands, savannahs or woodlands.

The taxonomy of this genus is in an awful condition. Forel (1892) provided a key to a few then known species but the usefulness of this key is limited since it covers only a minor fraction of the current diversity. Later, Wheeler (1922) and then Emery (1925b) published diagnoses and catalogues of the genus, although none of them attempted a full revision. No further taxonomic works have been published since then and a modern revision of Lepisiota would strongly improve the taxonomic understanding of this group.

Identification

Antennae 11-segments, without antennal club; palp formula 6,4; mandibles subtriangular, masticatory margin with 5–6 teeth; eyes with over 100 ommatidia; antennal scrobes absent; pronotal spines absent; mesothorax reduced and slender; metathoracic spiracles in profile raised; propodeal spines dentiform (absent in some species); petiolar spines present or absent; worker monomorphic, a few species are size-variable to weakly polymorphic.

See images of species within this genus

Keys to Species in this Genus

Distribution

Distribution and Richness based on AntMaps

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

	Afrotropical Region	Australasian Region	Indo-Australian Region	Malagasy Region	Nearctic Region	Neotropical Region	Oriental Region	Palaearctic Region
Species	91	0	6	2	0	0	24	51
Total Species	2839	1735	3036	932	834	4378	1708	2836

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Species Uncertain

Unknown species are associated with the aphids Aphis nerii, Chaitophorus sp., Lachnus sp. and Thelaxes suberis (Saddiqui et al., 2019 and included references).
An unspecified species within this genus is a host for the eulophid wasp Pediobius marjoriae (a parasite) (Universal Chalcidoidea Database) (primary host).
Unknown species of Lepisiota are hosts for the diapriid wasps Adelioneiva rudebecki and Ferrieropria sp. in South Africa (www.diapriid.org).
An unknown species is a host for the eulophid wasp Pediobius marjorae (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

All Associate Records for Genus

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Taxon	Relationship	Associate Type	Associate Taxon	Associate Relationship	Locality	Source	Notes
Lepisiota	host	diapriid wasp	Adelioneiva rudebecki	parasite	South Africa
Lepisiota	host	diapriid wasp	Ferrieropria sp.	parasite	South Africa	www.diapriid.org
Lepisiota	host	eulophid wasp	Pediobius marjorae	parasitoid		Quevillon, 2018	multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Lepisiota	host	eulophid wasp	Pediobius marjoriae	parasite		Universal Chalcidoidea Database	primary host
Lepisiota	mutualist	aphid	Aphis nerii	trophobiont		Stary, 1969; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota	mutualist	aphid	Chaitophorus sp.	trophobiont		Stary, 1969; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota	mutualist	aphid	Lachnus sp.	trophobiont		Stary, 1969; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota	mutualist	aphid	Thelaxes suberis	trophobiont		Stary, 1969; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis craccivora	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis fabae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis frangulae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis nasturtii	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis nerii	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis parietariae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis punicae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Aphis umbrella	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Chaitophorus euphraticus	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Chaitophorus truncates	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Hyalopterus pruni	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Myzus persicae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Pterochloroides persicae	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Rhopalosiphum maidis	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota bipartita	mutualist	aphid	Rhopalosiphum padi	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota capensis	host	cricket	Myrmophilellus meneliki	myrmecophile	Ethiopia	Reichensperger, 1913
Lepisiota capensis	host	encyrtid wasp	Anagyrus lopezi	parasite		Universal Chalcidoidea Database	associate
Lepisiota capensis	prey	syrphid fly	Paramixogaster acantholepidis	predator		Quevillon, 2018
Lepisiota dolabellae	mutualist	aphid	Acyrthosiphon pisum	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota dolabellae	mutualist	aphid	Brachycaudus tragopogonis	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Aphis craccivora	trophobiont		Rakhshan and Ahmad, 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Aphis eugeniae	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Aphis fabae	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Aphis gossypii	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Aphis pomi	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Greenidea (Greenidea) decaspermi	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Greenidea (Greenidea) ficicola	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Greenidea (Trichosiphum) formosana	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Macrosiphoniella sanborni	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Ovatus crataegarius	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Pterochloroides persicae	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Tinocallis kahawaluokalani	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota frauenfeldi	mutualist	aphid	Tuberolachnus salignus	trophobiont	Pakistan	Gull-E-Fareen et al., 2020
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Aphis fabae	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Aphis gossypii	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Brachycaudus helichrysi	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Brachycaudus tragopogonis	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Chaitophorus israeliticus	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Cinara pini	trophobiont		Latibari et al., 2016; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Hyalopterus amygdali	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Macrosiphon rosae	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Periphyllus bulgaricus	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Pterochloroides persicae	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Lepisiota nigra	mutualist	aphid	Schizaphis nigerrima	trophobiont		Mortazavi et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019

Life History Traits

Mean colony size: >200-300 workers (Greer et al., 2021)
Compound colony type: not parasitic (Greer et al., 2021)
Nest site: hypogaeic; arboreal (Greer et al., 2021)
Diet class: omnivore (Greer et al., 2021)
Foraging stratum: subterranean/leaf litter; arboreal (Greer et al., 2021)

Castes

Morphology

Worker Morphology

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• Antennal segment count: 11 • Antennal club: absent • Palp formula: 6,4 • Total dental count: 5-6 • Spur formula: 0,0 • Eyes: >100 ommatidia • Scrobes: absent • Pronotal Spines: absent • Mesonotal Spines: absent • Propodeal Spines: dentiform • Petiolar Spines: absent • Caste: monomorphic, a few species are size-variable to weakly polymorphic • Sting: absent • Metaplural Gland: present • Cocoon: present

Karyotype

Species Uncertain

Lepisiota sp.1: 2n = 18 (India) (Imai et al., 1984) (near to Lepisiota sericea).
Lepisiota sp.2: 2n = 18 (India) (Imai et al., 1984) (near to Lepisiota fergusoni).

All Karyotype Records for Genus

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Taxon	Diploid	Locality	Source	Notes
Lepisiota	18	India	Imai et al., 1984	near to ''Lepisiota sericea''
Lepisiota	18	India	Imai et al., 1984	near to ''Lepisiota fergusoni''
Lepisiota capensis	18	India	Imai et al., 1984	as ''Acantholepis lunaris''

Nomenclature

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

LEPISIOTA [Formicinae: Plagiolepidini]
- Lepisiota Santschi, 1926a: 15 [as subgenus of Acantholepis]. Type-species: Plagiolepis rothneyi, by original designation.
- Lepisiota is first available replacement name for Acantholepis Mayr, 1861 [junior homonym of Acantholepis Kroyer, 1846: 98 (Pisces)], hence valid name of genus: Bolton, 1995b: 33.
- Lepisiota senior synonym of Baroniurbania (unnecessary replacement name for Acantholepis): Bolton, 1994: 51.
- [Lepisiota incorrectly as junior synonym of Acanthomyrmex: Brown, 1973b: 181; Snelling, R.R. 1981: 397. In both publications Acanthomyrmex is an error for Acantholepis.]
- Subgenera of Lepisiota: nominal plus Baroniurbania: Dietrich, 2004: 324.
ACANTHOLEPIS [junior homonym, see Lepisiota]
- Acantholepis Mayr, 1861: 42. Type-species: Hypoclinea frauenfeldi, by monotypy. [Junior homonym of Acantholepis Kroyer, 1846: 98 (Pisces)].
- Lepisiota Santschi, 1926a: 15 [previously a subgenus of Acantholepis Mayr], first available replacement name for Acantholepis Mayr: Bolton, 1995b: 33.]
ACHANTILEPIS [unavailable name]
- Achantilepis Santschi, 1935b: 274, incorrect subsequent spelling of Acantholepis.
PSEUDACANTHOLEPIS [unavailable name]
- Pseudacantholepis Bernard, 1953b: 256, attributed to Santschi [as subgenus of Acantholepis]. Unavailable name. Proposed without designation of type-species. Species included by Bernard (1953b) are all referable to Lepisiota: Bolton, 1995b: 44.

References

Hita Garcia, F.; Wiesel, E.; Fischer, G. 2013. The ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—faunal overview, first species checklist, bibliography, accounts for all genera, and discussion on taxonomy and zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History 101:127-222.
Bolton, B. 1994. Identification guide to the ant genera of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 222 pp. (page 51, Lepisiota first available replacement name for Acantholepis Mayr (junior homonym), hence valid name of genus. Lepisiota senior synonym of Baroniurbania (unnecessary replacement name for Acantholepis).)
Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 33, Lepisiota first available replacement name for Acantholepis Mayr, 1861 (junior homonym of Acantholepis Kroyer, 1846:98 (Pisces), hence valid name of genus)
Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 102, Lepisiota in Formicinae, Plagiolepidini)
Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L., Prebus, M.M. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47, 113-151 (doi:10.1111/syen.12522).
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1973b. A comparison of the Hylean and Congo-West African rain forest ant faunas. Pp. 161-185 in: Meggers, B. J., Ayensu, E. S., Duckworth, W. D. (eds.) Tropical forest ecosystems in Africa and South America: a comparative review. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, viii + 350 pp. (page 181, (Lepisiota incorrectly as junior synonym of Acanthomyrmex, in error))
Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
Kreider, J.J., Chen, T.W., Hartke, T.R., Buchori, D., Hidayat, P., Nazarreta, R., Scheu, S., Drescher, J. 2021. Rainforest conversion to monocultures favors generalist ants with large colonies. Ecosphere 12 (doi:10.1002/ecs2.3717).
Lorite, P., Palomeque, T. 2010. Karyotype evolution in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of the known ant chromosome numbers. Myrmecological News 13: 89-102.
Santschi, F. 1926a. Trois notes myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 95: 13-28 (page 15, Lepisiota as subgenus of Acantholepis; first available replacement name for Acantholepis Mayr: Bolton, 1995b: 33.] )
Snelling, R. R. 1981. Systematics of social Hymenoptera. Pp. 369-453 in: Hermann, H. R. (ed.) Social insects. Volume 2. New York: Academic Press, xiii + 491 pp. (page 397, Lepisiota incorrectly as junior synonym of Acanthomyrmex (in error))