Lepisiota chutimae

Lepisiota chutimae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Plagiolepidini
Genus:	Lepisiota
Species:	L. chutimae
Binomial name
	Lepisiota chutimae; Jaitrong, Waengsothorn & Buddhakala, 2022

This is an arboreal species which lives on shrub trees in lowland dry evergreen forests. The type series was found nesting under a leaf of Memecylon ovatum at about 3 meters above the forest floor (arrow on Fig. 3A). The nest was covered with a dead leaf and no silk was seen. A spider was found within this nest.

Identification

'Lepisiota chutimae is most similar to Lepisiota emmelii from Indonesia (Java) and Lepisiota chapmani from the Philippines (Negros Oriental) in having a slightly smooth, shiny, and yellowish body. However, L. chutimae can be separated from L. chapmani by gaster dark brown (yellowish brown in L. chapmani); mesopleuron weakly sculptured (sharply longitudinally rugulose in L. chapmani); posterior peduncle of petiole smooth and shiny (finely punctate in L. chapmani); head and pronotum clearly smooth and shiny (very finely and superficially reticulate or shagreened with smooth and shining interspaces in L. chapmani).

Lepisiota chutimae can be distinguished from L. emmelii by tip of petiolar spine directed sideward (upward in L. emmelii, see figure on page 209 in Kutter, 1932 for comparison); gaster dark brown (yellowish brown in L. emmelii); anterior face of petiolar node feebly concave (weakly convex in L. emmelii); found in lowland (highland in L. emmelii).

Keys including this Species

Key to Lepisiota species from Thailand

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 14.5° to 13.3°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: Jaitrong et al., 2022

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Thailand (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

Castes

Nomenclature

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

chutimae. Lepisiota chutimae Jaitrong et al., 2022: 3, figs. 1-3 (w.q.) THAILAND.

Type Material

Holotype – worker (THNHM-I-24840, THNHM), NE Thailand: Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Wang Nam Khiao District, Sakaerat Environmental Research Station, DEF (dry evergreen forest) 22.III 2021, W. Jaitrong leg., TH21-WJT-002.
Paratypes: 50 workers (THNHM-I-24841 to THNHM-I-24889, THNHM) and a queen (THNHM-I-24890, THNHM), same data as holotype.

Description

References