Lepisiota rothneyi

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Lepisiota rothneyi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Plagiolepidini
Genus: Lepisiota
Species: L. rothneyi
Binomial name
Lepisiota rothneyi
(Forel, 1894)

Lepisiota rothneyi casent0906254 p 1 high.jpg

Lepisiota rothneyi casent0906254 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies

This species is widespread in India. It appears to be a forest ant, restricted to relatively undisturbed areas. The workers were mostly hand collected from tree trunks and by beating vegetation. (Wachkoo et al., 2021)

Identification

The medium-sized ant closely resembles Lepisiota wroughtonii, but can be separated from it by having a sparsely pubescent and shiny body, lacking erect setae on the mesosomal dorsum. In contrast, L. wroughtonii is more pubescent with few short setae on the pronotum. (Wachkoo et al., 2021)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Bangladesh, China, India (Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal), Myanmar, Vietnam (Wheeler 1927; Hannan 2003; Zryanin 2011, Guénard & Dunn 2012; Bharti et al. 2016; Wachkoo et al., 2021).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 30.372° to 10.38333333°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Bangladesh, India (type locality), Nepal, Thailand.
Palaearctic Region: China.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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.
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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.
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Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • rothneyi. Plagiolepis rothneyi Forel, 1894c: 415 (w.) INDIA. Combination in Acantholepis (Lepisiota): Santschi, 1926a: 15; in Lepisiota: Bolton, 1995b: 228. Current subspecies: nominal plus splendida, sundaica, taivanae, watsonii, wroughtonii.

Description

Worker

Bingham (1903): Black, smooth, polished and shining, the mandibles, antennae and legs reddish brown ; head, thorax and abdomen with sparse, erect, somewhat coarse hairs and a very fine thin pubescence, only to be seen in certain lights. Head without the mandibles nearly square, very slightly emarginate, and a little broader posteriorly than in front ; mandibles triangular, the masticatory margin broad, dentate and nearly straight, not so oblique as in P. longicornis; clypeus not carinate, convex and tectiform, the medial angle on its anterior margin not well-marked, not covering any portion of the mandibles. Thorax not so broad as the head, the pronotum very convex and rounded in front; mesonotum nearly as long as the pronotum; the meso-metanotal suture very distinct, deep and wide; metanotum large, broad and fiat, posteriorly its basal and apical obliquely sloping flat portions about equal. Node of the pedicel low, thick at base, slightly conical and rounded, but broader than long at apex ; abdomen very broad, convex and massive, gibbous in front.

Length: 2.5 - 4.5 mm


Wachkoo et al. (2021): Head subquadrate; about as long as wide, wider posteriorly than in front; lateral margins convex, posterior margin gently convex, posterolateral corners rounded; clypeus subcarinate in the middle; anterior clypeal margin complete and convex; eyes relatively small, broadly oval, weakly convex, placed at the middle-line of head, covering three-tenths of lateral cephalic margin; three small ocelli present; antennal scape surpassing posterior head margin by about one-fourth its length. Mesosoma constricted in the middle, in lateral view promesonotum dome like, convex; metanotum distinctly lower than promesonotum but almost as high as propodeum; mesometanotum demarcated; metanotal area short but distinct; propodeum unarmed without a pair of teeth or spines; propodeal declivity steep. Petiole upright, with smoothly curved sides, dorsally rounded, without a pair of teeth or spines.

Body overall smooth and shiny. Setae restricted to clypeus, gastral venter and segmental margins; a few setae near lateral ocelli usually present; body covered with sparse pubescence; antennal funiculus with appressed to decumbent pubescence. Color brown to black; antenna, mandible and tarsi light brown.

Measurements. HL 0.74–1.04; HW 0.71– 1.03; EL 0.20–0.28; SL 0.72–0.88; PnW 0.48–0.63; ML 0.88–1.09; PFL 0.61–0.81; PFW 0.18–0.25 mm. Indices: CI 95–98; SI 98–104; REL 26–27

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • 2008. Ants in Jilin Province, classification and distribution of insects. Northeast Normal University. Master's thesis.
  • Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
  • Chen Y. Q., Q. Li, Y. L. Chen, Z. X. Lu, X. Y. Zhou. 2011. Ant diversity and bio-indicators in land management of lac insect agroecosystem in Southwestern China. Biodivers. Conserv. 20: 3017-3038.
  • Chen Y., C. W. Luo, H. W. Li, Y. J. Liu, H. F. Zheng, and F. C. Yang. 2013. Investigation of ant species and distribution on Wuliang Mountain. Journal of Henan Agricultural Sciences 42(5): 118-122.
  • Chen Y., C.-W. Luo, H. W Li, Z. H. Xu, Y. J. Liu, and S. J. Zhao. 2011. The investigation of soil ant resources on the West slope of Mt Ailao. Hubei Agricultural Sciences 50(7): 1356-1359.
  • Chen Z. L., S. Y. Zhou, D. D. Ye, Y. Chen, and C. W. Lu. 2013. Moleular phylogeny of the ant subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from China based on Mitochondrial genes. Sociobiology 60(2): 135-144.
  • Forel A. 1894. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part IV. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 8: 396-420.
  • Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
  • Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, 2001. Report of Rapid Biodiversity Assessments at Jianfengling Nature Reserve, Southwest Hainan, 1998 and 2001. South China Forest Biodiversity Survey Report Series (Online Simplified Version): No. 3. KFBG, Hong Kong SAR, ii + 35 pp.
  • Li Q., Y. Chen, S. Wang, Y. Zheng, Y. Zhu, and S. Wang. 2009. Diversity of ants in subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in Pu'er City, Yunnan. Biodiversity Science 17(3): 233-239.
  • Li Q., Z. Lu, Z. Wei, M. Yanyan, and F. Ping. 2015. Communities of ground-dwelling ants in different plantation forest in arid-hot valleys of Jinsha river, Yunnan Province, China. Scientia Silvae Sinicae 51(8): 134-142.
  • Li Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
  • Lu Z., B. D. Hoffmann, and Y. Chen. 2016. Can reforested and plantation habitats effectively conserve SW China’s ant biodiversity? Biodivers. Conserv. DOI 10.1007/s10531-016-1090-1
  • Lu Z., and Y. Chen. 2016. Effects of habitat on ant functional groups: a case study of Luchun County, Yunnan Province, China. Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture 24(5): 801-810.
  • Ran H., and S. Y. Zhou. 2012. Checklist of chinese ants: formicomorph subfamilies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) II. Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition 30(4): 81-91.
  • Song Y., Z. Xu, C. Li, N. Zhang, L. Zhang, H. Jiang, and F. Mo. 2013. An Analysis on the Ant Fauna of the Nangun river Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. Forest Research 26(6): 773-780.
  • Sureh P. V., V. V. Sudheendrakumar, C. F. Binoy, G. Mathew, and T. C. Narendran. 1999. The macro Hymenopteran fauna of Parambikulam wildlife Sanctuary. Zoos' Print Journal 14(4): 1-2.
  • Wachkoo, A.A., Bharti, H., Akbar, S.A. 2021. Taxonomic review of the ant genus Lepisiota Santschi, 1926 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) from India. Bonn Zoological Bulletin 70(2): 227–245 (doi:10.20363/BZB-2021.70.2.227).
  • Wheeler W. M. 1921. Chinese ants collected by Prof. C. W. Howard. Psyche (Cambridge) 28: 110-115.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1930. A list of the known Chinese ants. Peking Natural History Bulletin 5: 53-81.
  • Wu B., Y. Lu, G. Liang, and L. Zeng. 2010. Influence of the red inported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the diversity of ant communities in a newly infested longan orchard and grass areas nearby. Acta Ecologica Sinica 30(8): 2075-2083.
  • Wu B., Y. Lu, L. Zeng, and G. Liang. 2008. Influences of Solenopsis invicta Buren invasion on the native ant communities in different habitats in Guangdong. Chin. J. Appl. Ecol. 19(1): 151-156.
  • Wu Z. W., X. D. Bi, X. He, Z. X. Lu, L. J. Wei, and Y. Q Chen. 2015. Impact of continuous fire disturbance on ground-dwelling ant communities in arid-hot valleys of Panzhihua, Sichuan. Journal of Yunnan University 37(3): 467-474.
  • Xu F. F., and J. Chen. 2009. Comparison of the Differences in Response to the Change of the Extrafloral Nectar-ant-herbivore Interaction System Between a Native and an Introduced Passiflora Species. Acta Botanica Yunnanica 31(6): 543-550.
  • Zhang R. J., L. W. Liang, and S. Y. Zhou. 2014. An analysis on the ant fauna of Nonggang Nature Reserve in Guangxi, China. Journal of Guangxi Normal university: Natural Science Edition 32(3): 86-93.
  • Zhang Xiang, and Hou You-Ming. 2009. Five new record genus and thirty one new records species of ants (Hymenoptera; Formicidae) in Fujian Province. Journal of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University 38(5): 479-484.
  • Zryanin V. A. 2011. An eco-faunistic review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Structure and functions of soil communities of a monsoon tropical forest (Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam) / A.V. Tiunov (Editor). – M.: KMK Scientific Press. 2011. 277 р.101-124.
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