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Lepisiota wroughtonii
| Lepisiota wroughtonii | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Plagiolepidini |
| Genus: | Lepisiota |
| Species: | L. wroughtonii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lepisiota wroughtonii (Forel, 1902) | |
This species appears widespread in India and has been mainly hand collected from tree trunks, by beating vegetation, from honey baits and occasionally in pitfall traps. (Wachkoo et al., 2021)
Identification
The main characters that distinguish this species from Lepisiota rothneyi, the species with which it is most likely to be confused, are a combination of a densely pubescent and dull body with few erect setae on the pronotum, whereas L. rothneyi has a sparsely pubescent and shiny body, lacking erect setae on the mesosomal dorsum. (Wachkoo et al., 2021)
Keys including this Species
Distribution
China, India (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, West Bengal), Sri Lanka (Guénard & Dunn 2012; Bharti et al. 2016; Dias et al. 2020; Wachkoo et al. 2021).
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India (type locality), Sri Lanka.
Palaearctic Region: China.
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. |
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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.
- wroughtonii. Plagiolepis rothneyi r. wroughtonii Forel, 1902d: 292 (w.) INDIA.
- Combination in Lepisiota: Bolton, 1995b: 229.
- Status as species: Bingham, 1903: 321; Wachkoo et al., 2021: 241.
Taxonomic Notes
This medium-sized ant was originally described by Forel (1892) as an infraspecific taxon rothneyi r. wroughtonii and later elevated to species rank by Bingham (1903). Emery (1925) reverted it back to subspecies without any justification. Based on our examination, we consider it as a valid species and elevate it to species rank (Wachkoo et al., 2021).
Description
Worker
Bingham (1903): Black with, in certain lights, a purple gloss on the abdomen, very smooth and shining, antennae and legs reddish brown, tarsi yellowish white, mandibles ferruginous. Pilosity and pubescence very sparse; flagellum of the antennae only somewhat densely pubescent. Head square, slightly emarginate posteriorly; mandibles comparatively robust, with a much straighter, not oblique, masticatory margin; clypeus convex, with a very distinct median carina; eyes large, placed somewhat to the front below the middle line of the head. Thorax short and stout, pronotum very convex and vaulted, mesonotum small, seen from above circular; meso-metanotal suture emarginate; metanotum short and broad, the basal portion somewhat flat and nearly as long as the oblique apical portion; legs comparatively short and stout. Node of the pedicel low, flat, transverse above; abdomen massive, much longer than broad.
Length: 2 - 2.5 mm
Wachkoo et al. (2021): Head subquadrate; longer than 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 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 dull covered with relatively dense pubescence. Setae restricted to clypeus, gastral venter and segmental margins; few short erect setae on pronotum and near lateral ocelli usually present; pubescence relatively dense, more so on gaster; antennal funiculus with appressed to decumbent pubescence. Color black; antenna, mandible and tarsi light brown.
Measurements (n = 13): HL 0.60–0.75; HW 0.54– 0.69; EL 0.16–0.21; SL 0.60–0.73; PnW 0.36–0.48; ML 0.76–0.96; PFL 0.49–0.62; PFW 0.16–0.20 mm. Indices: CI 82–93; SI 103–119; REL 26–28.
References
- Bingham, C. T. 1903. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera, Vol. II. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis, 506 pp. (page 321, Raised to species)
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 229, Combination in Lepisiota)
- Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 23, Subspecies of rothneyi)
- Forel, A. 1902d. Variétés myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 46: 284-296 (page 292, worker described)
- Harshana, A., Dey, D. 2022. Taxonomic studies on the ant genus Lepisiota Santschi 1926 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) in India, with description of four new species. Oriental Insects 1–34 (doi:10.1080/00305316.2022.2125096).
- Liu, C., Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Liu, Q., Peng, Y.Q., Economo, E.P., Guénard, B., Pierce, N.E. 2020. Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot. ZooKeys 978, 1–171 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.978.55767).
- 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).
- Wu, J. & Wang, C. 1992. Formicidae (pp. 1301-1320). In Peng, J. et al. Iconography of Forest Insects in Hunan, China. Forest Bureau of Hunan Province: 1473 pp. Hunan Scientific and Technical Publishing House.