Myrmicaria brunnea

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Myrmicaria brunnea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Myrmicaria
Species: M. brunnea
Binomial name
Myrmicaria brunnea
Saunders, W.W., 1842

Myrmicaria brunnea casent0900498 p 1 high.jpg

Myrmicaria brunnea casent0900498 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies

Myrmicaria brunnea and Myrmicaria vidua inhabit various habitats such as fruit gardens, sparse forests, forest edges and well-developed forests, and nest in soil, often building big mounds with soil particles. Workers scavenge dead animals and also tend homopterans. (Eguchi, Bui and Yamane 2011)

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 32.9141° to -6.78954°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Bangladesh, India (type locality), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam.
Palaearctic Region: China.

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

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.
pChart

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

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

This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis gossypii (a trophobiont) (Lokeshwari et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Myrmicaria brunnea casent0900498 p 2 high.jpg
Holotype of Physatta gibbosaQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0900498. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Myrmicaria brunnea casent0901426 d 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0901426 h 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0901426 p 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0901426 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Heptacondylus subcarinatusWorker. Specimen code casent0901426. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by OUM, Oxford, UK.
Myrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 h 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 d 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 p 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 l 1 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 p 2 high.jpgMyrmicaria brunnea casent0908330 p 3 high.jpg
Syntype of Myrmicaria brunnea flavaMale (alate). Specimen code casent0908330. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

  • brunnea. Myrmicaria brunnea Saunders, W.W. 1842: 57, pl. 5, fig. 2 (m.) INDIA. Bingham, 1903: 118 (w.q.); Imai, Baroni Urbani, et al. 1984: 6 (k.). See also: Forel, 1903a: 708; Karavaiev, 1935a: 80. Current subspecies: nominal plus flava, subcarinata.

Description

Worker

Bingham (1903): Chestnut-brown, shining; mandibles finely and closely, head and thorax more or less widely, longitudinally striate; the nodes of the pedicel smooth or only slightly rugulose; abdomen polished and smooth; pilosity long, abundant, reddish yellow, slightly oblique ou the antennse and legs. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Length: 5.5 - 8 mm

Queen

Bingham (1903): Resembles the worker in colour; the mandibles are more coarsely striate, the clypeus is smooth, the front between the antennae and the cheeks longitudinally striate, the head posteriorly on the vertex and lateral angles coarsely reticulate. Thorax: the pronotum somewhat vaguely and transversely and the mesonotum posteriorly longitudinally striate; anteriorly the latter is smooth and polished, the scutellum rugose, the metanotum irregularly striate rugose, including the basal portion of the metanotal spines. Pedicel: the nodes rugulose, opaque; abdomen smooth, polished and shining. Wings hyaline ; nervures brownish.

Length: 12 - 13 mm

Male

Bingham (1903): Light chestnut-yellow, the apical margins of the abdominal segments more or less broadly brownish black; head and thorax somewhat densely pubescent, in places rugulose, giving them a dull subopaque black: head on each side of the ocelli longitudinally striate. Some few striae on the mesonotum posteriorly and on the basal portion of the metanotum, traces of the same on the apical face of the latter. Pedicel obscurely rugulose, sub opaque; abdomen smooth, shining, but not highly polished. Wings flavo-hyaline ; nervures yellowish.

Length: 10 - 11 mm


Karyotype

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • 2n = 44, karyotype = 24M+20A (India) (Imai et al., 1984) (The photo is the Myrmicaria brunnea subcarinata).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Amarasinghe H. E. 2010. Species composition and nesting habits of ants in a hill-country home garden in Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 3: 9-20.
  • Anu A., and T. K. Sabu. 2007. Biodiversity analysis of forest litter ant assembalges in the Wayanad region of Western Ghats using taxonomic and conventional diversity measures. Journal of Insect Science 7(6): 1-13.
  • Basu P., N. Tak, and A. K. Sanyal. 2013. Ants (insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Bethuadahari wildlife sanctuary, Nadia, West Bengal, India. Rec. zool, Surv. India: 113(4): 17-22.
  • Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, M. Bharti, and M. Pfeiffer. 2013. Ant species richness, endemicity and functional groups, along an elevational gradient in the Himalayas. Asian Myrmecology 5: 79-101.
  • Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, and A. Kaur. 2009. Seasonal patterns of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Punjab Shivalik. Halteres 1(1): 36-47.
  • 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
  • Dad J. M., S. A. Akbar, H. Bharti, and A. A. Wachkoo. 2019. Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites ofWestern Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 39: 219–228.
  • Davidson D. W., S. C. Cook, R. R. Snelling and T. H. Chua. 2003. Explaining the Abundance of Ants in Lowland Tropical Rainforest Canopies. Science 300: 969-972.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2006. Current taxonomic status of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. The Fauna of Sri Lanka: 43-52. Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (Editor), 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation. The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. viii + 308pp.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2013. Diversity and importance of soil-dweeling ants. Proceedings of the National Symposium on Soil Biodiversity, chapt 4, pp 19-22.
  • Dias R. K. S., H. P. G. R. C. Ruchirani, K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2013. Frequency of nest occurrence and nest density of Aneuretus simoni Emery (Sri Lankan Relict Ant) and other ant fauna in an abandoned rubber plantation (Kirikanda Forest) in southwest Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 5: 59-67.
  • Dias R. K. S., K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. p11-19.
  • Dias R. K. S., and K. R. K. Anuradha Kosgamage. 2012. Occurrence and species diversity of ground-dwelling worker ants (Family: Formicidae) in selected lands in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. J. Sci. Univ. Kelaniya 7: 55-72.
  • Dias R. K. S., and W. S. Udayakantha. 2016. Discovery of the Sri Lankan Relict Ant, Aneuretus simoni Emery (Formicidae, Aneuretinae) and the nest density of the species in a selected region of Meethirigala Forest Reserve, Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 8: 1-8. DOI: 10.20362/am.008005
  • Dias R. K. S.; Perera K. A. M. 2011. Worker ant community observed by repeated sampling and information on endemic Aneuretus simoni Emery in the Gilimale Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 4: 69-78.
  • Donisthorpe H. 1942. Ants from the Colombo Museum Expedition to Southern India, September-October 1938. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (11)9: 449-461.
  • Eguchi K.; Bui T. V.; Yamane S. 2011. Generic synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), part I — Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. Zootaxa 2878: 1-61.
  • Figueras G. S., and O. M. Nuneza. 2013. Species diversity of ants in karst limestone habitats in Bukidnon and Davao Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines. Advances in Environmental Sciences - International Journal of the Bioflux Society 5(3): 306-315.
  • Forel A. 1903. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part X. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 14: 679-715.
  • Forel A. 1907. Formiciden aus dem Naturhistorischen Museum in Hamburg. II. Teil. Neueingänge seit 1900. Mitt. Naturhist. Mus. Hambg. 24: 1-20.
  • Forel A. 1911. Ameisen aus Ceylon, gesammelt von Prof. K. Escherich (einige von Prof. E. Bugnion). Pp. 215-228 in: Escherich, K. Termitenleben auf Ceylon. Jena: Gustav Fischer, xxxii + 262 pp.
  • Forel A. 1911. Fourmis nouvelles ou intéressantes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 47: 331-400.
  • Forel A. 1913k. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise nach Ostindien ausgeführt im Auftrage der Kgl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von H. v. Buttel-Reepen. II. Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt von Herrn Prof. Dr. v. Buttel-Reepen in den Jahren 1911-1912. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 36:1-148.
  • Forel, A. 1908. Fourmis de Ceylan et d'Égypte récoltées par le Prof. E. Bugnion. Lasius carniolicus. Fourmis de Kerguelen. Pseudandrie? Strongylognathus testaceus. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 44: 1-22
  • Gay H., and R. Hensen. 1992. Ant specificity and behaviour in mutualisms with epiphytes: the case of Lecanopteris (Polypodiaceae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 47: 261-284.
  • Gumawardene, N.R., J.D. Majer and J.P. Edirisinghe. 2008. Diversity and richness of ant species in a lowland wet forest reserve in Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 2:71-83
  • Gunawardene N. R., J. D. Majer, and J. P. Edirisinghe. 2008. Diversity and richness of ant species in a lowland wet forest reserve in Sri Lanka. Asian Myrmecology 2: 71-83.
  • Gunawardene N. R., J. D. Majer, and J. P. Edirisinghe. 2012. Correlates of ant 5Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and tree species diversity in Sri Lanka. Myrmecological News 17: 81-90.
  • Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
  • Hannan M.A. 2008. New ant records fro Bangladesh. Asian Myrmecology 2: 95-98.
  • Huang Jian-hua, Zhou Shan-yi. 2007. A checklist of family Formicidae of China - Myrmicinae (Part II) (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Journal of Guangxi Normal University : Natural Science Edition 25(1): 91-99.
  • Imai H. T., C. Baroni Urbani, M. Kubota, G. P. Sharma, M. H. Narasimhanna, B. C. Das, A. K. Sharma, A. Sharma, G. B. Deodikar, V. G. Vaidya, and M. R. Rajasekarasetty. 1984. Karyological survey of Indian ants. Japanese Journal of Genetics 59: 1-32.
  • Ito, F.; Yamane, S.; Eguchi, K.; Noerdjito, W. A.; Kahono, S.; Tsuji, K.; Ohkawara, K.; Yamauchi, K.; Nishida, T.; Nakamura, K. 2001. Ant species diversity in the Bogor Botanic Garden, West Java, Indonesia, with descriptions of two new species of the genus Leptanilla (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Tropics 10:379-404.
  • Jaitrong W., and T. Ting-Nga. 2005. Ant fauna of Peninsular Botanical Garden (Khao Chong), Trang Province, Southern Thailand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal 1(2): 137-147.
  • Jaitrong W.; Nabhitabhata, J. 2005. A list of known ant species of Thailand. The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal 1(1): 9-54.
  • Kaleeswaran B., S. Ezil, B. P. Ganesh, and S. Bhavatarini. 2008. Biodiversity and niches of Ants in Alagar hills, Tamil nadu Wildlife Biodiversity Conservation Published by Day publishing house pp 188-208.
  • Karavaiev V. 1935. Neue Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet, nebst Revision einiger Formen. Treubia 15: 57-118.
  • Karmaly K. A.; S. Sumesh, T. P. Rabeesh, and L. Kishore. 2010. A checklist of ants of Thirunelli in Wayanad, Kerala. J. of the Bombay Natural History Society 107(1): 64-67.
  • 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 Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
  • Mathew R., and R. N. Tiwari. 2000. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 251-409 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 2000. Fauna of of Meghalaya. Part 7. [State Fauna Series 4.] Insecta 2000. Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, 621 pp.
  • Menozzi C. 1930. Formiche di Sumatra raccolte dal Prof. J. C. van der Meer Mohr. Miscellanea Zoologica Sumatrana 47: 1-5.
  • Mezger D., and M. Pfeiffer. 2011. Influence of the arrival of Anoplolepis gracilipes (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on the composition of an ant community in a clearing in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia. Asian Myrmecology 4: 89-98.
  • Mohamed M. 1995. A preliminary list of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Tawau Hills Park, Sabah. In: Ghazally Ismail et al. (eds.), Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Pelanduk Pub. Pp. 205-213.
  • Mukerjee D. 1934. Entomological investigations on the spike disease of sandal (22). Formicidae (Hymen.). Indian Forest Rec. Entomol. Ser. 20 5: 1-15.
  • Musthak Ali T. M. 1982. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Bangalore with observations on their nesting and foraging habits. Thesis Abstracts. Haryana Agricultural University 8: 370-371.
  • Musthak Ali T. M. 1992. Ant Fauna of Karnataka-2. Newsletter of IUSSI Indian Chapter 6(1-2): 1-9.
  • Narendra A., H. Gibb, and T. M. Ali. 2011. Structure of ant assemblages in Western Ghats, India: role of habitat, disturbance and introduced species. Insect Conservation and diversity 4(2): 132-141.
  • Ogata K. 2005. Asian ant inventory and international networks. Report on Insect inventory Project in Tropic Asia TAIIV: 145-170.
  • Pfeiffer M., D. Mezger, and J. Dyckmans. 2013. Trophic ecology of tropical leaf litter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a stable isotope study in four types of Bornean rain forest. Myrmecological News 19: 31-41.
  • Rajan P. D., M. Zacharias, and T. M. Mustak Ali. 2006. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Fauna of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka). Conservation Area Series, Zool. Surv. India.i-iv,27: 153-188.
  • Rasheed M. T., I. Bodlah, A. G. Fareen, A. A. Wachkoo, X. Huang, and S. A. Akbar. 2019. A checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Pakistan. Sociobiology 66(3): 426-439.
  • Rothney G. A. J. 1903. The aculeate Hymenoptera of Barrackpore, Bengal. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1903: 93-116.
  • Sabu T. K., P. J. Vineesh, and K. V. Vinod. 2008. Diversity of forest litter-inhabiting ants along elevations in the Wayanad region of the Western Ghats. Journal of Insect Science 8: 69.
  • Santschi F. 1924. Fourmis d'Indochine. Opuscules de l'Institut Scientifique de l'Indochine 3: 95-117
  • Schmidt F. A., C. R. Ribas, T. G. Sobrinho, R. Ubaidillah, J. H. Schereder, Y. Clough, and T. Tscharntke. 2017. Similar alpha and beta diversity changes in tropical ant communities, comparing savannas and rainforests in Brazil and Indonesia. Oecologia DOI 10.1007/s00442-017-3960-y
  • Sheikh A. H., M. Manzoor, Y. A. Rather, and T. Jobiraj. 2019. Taxonomic study of ant (Formicidae : Hymenoptera) fauna of Dumna Nature Park, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Entomological Research 43(2): 203-212.
  • 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.
  • Sonune B. V., and R. J. Chavan. 2016. Distribution and diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) around Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary, Aurangabad Maharashtra, India. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 4(2): 361-364.
  • Tiwari R. N. 1999. Taxonomic studies on ants of southern India (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 18(4): 1-96.
  • Tiwari R.N., B.G. Kundu, S. Roychowdhury, S.N. Ghosh. 1999. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 211-294 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 1999. Fauna of West Bengal. Part 8. Insecta (Trichoptera, Thysanoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera and Anoplura). Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, iv + 442 pp.
  • Tiwari, R.N. 1999. Taxonomic studies on ants of southern India (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 18(4):1-96
  • Varghese T. 2004. Taxonomic studies on ant genera of the Indian Institute of Science campus with notes on their nesting habits. Pp. 485-502 in : Rajmohana, K.; Sudheer, K.; Girish Kumar, P.; Santhosh, S. (eds.) 2004. Perspectives on biosystematics and biodiversity. Prof. T.C. Narendran commemoration volume. Kerala: Systematic Entomology Research Scholars Association, xxii + 666 pp.
  • Yahya B. E., S. Yamane, and M. Mohamed. 2009. Morphological and Behaviorla characters of the two species groups of the ant genus Myrmicaria (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from Southeast Asia. Species Diversity 14: 249-265.
  • Yamane S.; Bui T. V.; Ogata K.; Okido H.; Eguchi K. 2002. Ant fauna of Cuc Phuong National Park, North Vietnam (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Institute of Tropical Agriculture Kyushu University 25: 51-62.
  • 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.
  • 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.