Octostruma rugifera

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Octostruma rugifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Octostruma
Species: O. rugifera
Binomial name
Octostruma rugifera
(Mayr, 1887)

Octostruma rugifera casent0178003 profile 1.jpg

Octostruma rugifera casent0178003 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

Nothing is known about the biology of Octostruma rugifera.

At a Glance • Ergatoid queen  

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 9.266667° to -27.818°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil (type locality), Colombia, Paraguay, Venezuela.

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

Explore-icon.png Explore Overview of Octostruma biology 
Longino (2013) - Brown and Kempf (1960) summarized the biology of basicerotines as follows: The basicerotines all come from tropical or subtropical areas, and predominantly from mesic habitats, particularly rain forest, where they live primarily in the upper layers of the soil and in the soil cover, including large and small pieces of rotten wood. They are fairly common in soil cover berlesates. Nests have been found in snail shells, and in the peaty masses gathered about epiphytic ferns above the ground level. So far as is known, colonies are small, consisting of one or more dealate—or rarely ergatoid—females, and a few workers. Judging from the structure of the workers and females, one would suppose that they were predaceous on small arthropods...

Besides this summary, the behavior of three basicerotine species has been studied. Wilson (1956) observed a small captive colony of Eurhopalothrix biroi, a New Guinea species. Workers moved slowly and captured a variety of small, soft-bodied prey, including spiders, symphylans, entomobryid Collembola, campodeids, and hemipteran nymphs. Wilson and Brown (1984) observed a captive colony of Eurhopalothrix heliscata, a species from Singapore. The colony contained over 400 workers, multiple alate and dealate queens, several adult males, and brood. Foraging workers acted "rather like miniature ferrets," readily wedging themselves into small crevices. They foraged solitarily, attacking a variety of prey but mostly termites. They used their sharply-toothed mandibles to abruptly snap onto appendages of prey, maintaining purchase and slowly reaching around with the gaster to sting the prey. The strongly sclerotized labrum was also employed to press against the clamped appendage. The behavioral repertoire was limited. There did not appear to be trophallaxis, as workers and larvae fed directly from prey in the brood chambers. Nor did there appear to be any form of alarm communication. While there was generally an increase in the number of foragers when clusters of prey were presented, there was no evidence of any pheromone-based recruitment. Workers were non-aggressive and responded to disturbance by tucking the appendages and becoming immobile, often for minutes at a time. Wilson and Hölldobler (1986) studied captive colonies of Basiceros manni from Costa Rica and observed behavior not substantially different from E. heliscata. Foraging workers of many basicerotines are often encrusted with a firmly bonded layer of soil, which is thought to function as camouflage, enhancing crypsis (Hölldobler & Wilson, 1986).

Knowledge of the basic natural history of these ants has hardly progressed since the observations of Wilson, Brown, and Hölldobler. More specimens are now available for examination due to quantitative litter sampling, enhancing knowledge of basicerotine diversity and distribution, but discovering nests remains exceedingly difficult. Quantitative samples of 1 m2 litter plots reveals that small basicerotines can be very frequent, occurring in over 50% of samples in some cases, but never in large numbers. Individual samples usually contain fewer than ten workers, and workers are often accompanied by dealate queens. These results suggest that colonies, at least among New World species, are usually small, with tens of workers.

Less than half of the species of Octostruma have their queens described. Ergatoid queens are known from some species. Males are known from collections for some species but none have been described. The mating biology of these ants and how common ergatoid queens are across the genus and within colonies is not known. ‎

Castes

Brown & Kempf (1960) reporrted both winged and ergatoid queens.

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Octostruma rugifera casent0178666 head 1.jpgOctostruma rugifera casent0178666 profile 1.jpgOctostruma rugifera casent0178666 dorsal 1.jpgOctostruma rugifera casent0178666 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0178666. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MIZA, Maracay, Venezuela.

Nomenclature

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

  • rugifera. Rhopalothrix rugifer Mayr, 1887: 579 (w.) BRAZIL. Combination in Octostruma: Brown, 1949f: 92. Senior synonym of truncata: Brown & Kempf, 1960: 199.
  • truncata. Rhopalothrix (Octostruma) truncata Forel, 1912e: 196 (q.) BRAZIL. Combination in Octostruma: Brown, 1949f: 92. Junior synonym of rugifera: Brown & Kempf, 1960: 199.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Brown and Kempf (1960) - TL 2.0-2.5, HL 0,52-0.63, HW 0.51-0.65 (CI 97-109), WL 0.49-0.60 mm. Based on 18 specimens from at least 10 separate collections from all parts of the known range.

Ergatoid female: TL 2.6, HL 0.65, HW 0.69 (CI 106), WL 0.67 mm.

Queen

Brown and Kempf (1960) - TL 2.9-3.1, HL 0.65-0.67, HW 0.67-0.69 (CI 103-105), WL 0.76-0.80 mm.

Very similar to the corresponding castes of Octostruma balzani, but with a distinct arcuate carina stretched across the vertex between the compound eyes. Also the following minor characters:

1. Pilosity, especially the erect hairs, averaging finer and less abundant than in corresponding castes of balzani. Worker with 4-8 erect hairs on head proper, of which the hair behind each eye and the pair on mid-vertex are perhaps the most constant in presence. Alitrunk and petiole normally without erect hairs, postpetiole with a single median pair; first gastric segment with 8-12 hairs, mostly on posterior half. Female with more abundant erect hairs: 14-18 along transverse cephalic carina, and 4-6 behind this on head; about 16 on mesonotum, 1 pair each all both nodes, 30 or more on first gastric tergite.

2. Propodeal dorsum shorter than in balzani, more steeply sloping, ending in shorter teeth.

3. Gaster very slightly less opaquely sculptured than in balzani, owing to narrow but shining interpunctular spaces.

4. Basal tooth of mandible triangular, with narrow, tapering apex.

Type Material

Longino (2013):

Syntype workers: Brazil, Santa Catarina Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna? (not examined).

Rhopalothrix (Octostruma) truncata Holotype queen: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro: Corcovado (Dr. Arth. Müller) Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève? (not examined).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
  • Brown W. L., Jr., and W. W. Kempf. 1960. A world revision of the ant tribe Basicerotini. Stud. Entomol. (n.s.) 3: 161-250.
  • Campos R. B. F., J. H. Schoereder, and C. F. Sperber. 2007. Small-scale patch dynamics after disturbance in litter ant communities. Basic and Applied Ecology 8: 36—43.
  • Cuezzo F. 1999. Nuevas citas de hormigas de las tribus Dacetini y Basicerotini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para la República Argentina. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. 58(3/4): 209-210.
  • Cuezzo, F. 1998. Formicidae. Chapter 42 in Morrone J.J., and S. Coscaron (dirs) Biodiversidad de artropodos argentinos: una perspectiva biotaxonomica Ediciones Sur, La Plata. Pages 452-462.
  • Emery C. 1894. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. VI-XVI. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 26: 137-241.
  • Favretto M. A., E. Bortolon dos Santos, and C. J. Geuster. 2013. Entomofauna from West of Santa Catarina State, South of Brazil. EntomoBrasilis 6 (1): 42-63.
  • Feitosa R. dos S. M. and A. S. Ribeiro. 2005. Mirmecofauna (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) de serapilheira de uma área de Floresta Atlântica no Parque Estadual daCantareira – São Paulo, Brasil. Biotemas 18: 51-71.
  • Figueiredo C. J. de, R. R. da Silva, C. de Bortoli Munhae, and M. S. de Castro Morini. 2013. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) attracted to underground traps in Atlantic Forest. Biota Neotrop 13(1): 176-182
  • Fleck M. D., E. Bisognin Cantarelli, and F. Granzotto. 2015. Register of new species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio Grande do Sul state. Ciencia Florestal, Santa Maria 25(2): 491-499.
  • Kamura C. M., M. S. C. Morini, C. J. Figueiredo, O. C. Bueno, and A. E. C. Campos-Farinha. 2007. Ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an urban ecosystem near the Atlantic Rainforest. Braz. J. Biol. 67(4): 635-641.
  • Kempf W. W. 1978. A preliminary zoogeographical analysis of a regional ant fauna in Latin America. 114. Studia Entomologica 20: 43-62.
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Kusnezov N. 1956. Claves para la identificación de las hormigas de la fauna argentina. Idia 104-105: 1-56.
  • Kusnezov, N., and R. Golbach. "Lista de las especies argentinas de la tribu Dacetini Hymenoptera, Formicidae." Acta Zoologica Lilloana 10 (1952): 423-426.
  • Longino J. T. 2013. A revision of the ant genus Octostruma Forel 1912 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zootaxa 3699(1): 1-61.
  • Lutinski J. A., F. R. Mello Garcia, C. J. Lutinska, and S. Iop. 2008. Ants diversity in Floresta Nacional de Chapecó in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Ciência Rural, Santa Maria 38(7): 1810-1816.
  • Morini M. S. de C., C. de B. Munhae, R. Leung, D. F. Candiani, and J. C. Voltolini. 2007. Comunidades de formigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) em fragmentos de Mata Atlântica situados em áreas urbanizadas. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 97(3): 246-252.
  • Orsolon-Souza G., C. E. L. Esberard, A. J. Mayhe-Nunes, A. B. Vargas, S. Veiga-Ferreira, and E. Folly-Ramos. 2011. Comparison between Winkler’s extractor and pitfall traps to estimate leaf litter ants richness (Formicidae) at a rainforest site in southest Brazil. Braz. J. Biol. 71(4): 873-880.
  • Pacheco, R., R.R. Silva, M.S. de C. Morini, C.R.F. Brandao. 2009. A Comparison of the Leaf-Litter Ant Fauna in a Secondary Atlantic Forest with an Adjacent Pine Plantation in Southeastern Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 38(1):055-065
  • Probst R. S., B. D. Wray, C. S. Moreau, and C. R. F. Brandao. 2019. A phylogenetic analysis of the dirt ants, Basiceros (Formicidae: Myrmicinae): inferring life histories through morphological convergence. Insect Systematics and Diversity 3(4): 1–12.
  • Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
  • Rosumek, F.B., M.A. Ulyssea, B.C. Lopes, J. Steiner. 2008. Formigas de solo e de bromélias em uma área de Mata Atlântica, Ilha de Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil: Levantamento de espécies e novos registros. Revista Biotemas 21(4):81-89.
  • Santos Lopes J. F., N. Martins dos Reis Hallack, T. Archanjo de Sales, M. Silva Brugger, L. F. Ribeiro, I. N. Hastenreiter, and R. da Silva Camargo. 2012. Comparison of the Ant Assemblages in Three Phytophysionomies: Rocky Field, Secondary Forest, and Riparian Forest—A Case Study in the State Park of Ibitipoca, Brazil. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/928371
  • Santos P. P., A. Vasconcelos, B. Jahyny, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2010. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) associated to arboreal nests of Nasutitermes spp. (Isoptera, Termitidae) in a cacao plantation in southeastern Bahia, Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 54(3): 450–-454.
  • Santschi F. 1933. Fourmis de la République Argentine en particulier du territoire de Misiones. Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. 116: 105-124.
  • Silva R. R., R. S. Machado Feitosa, and F. Eberhardt. 2007. Reduced ant diversity along a habitat regeneration gradient in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Forest Ecology and Management 240: 61-69.
  • Silva R.R., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2014. Ecosystem-Wide Morphological Structure of Leaf-Litter Ant Communities along a Tropical Latitudinal Gradient. PLoSONE 9(3): e93049. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093049
  • Silva T. S. R., and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. Using controlled vocabularies in anatomical terminology: A case study with Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Arthropod Structure and Development 52: 1-26.
  • Silvestre R., M. F. Demetrio, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2012. Community Structure of Leaf-Litter Ants in a Neotropical Dry Forest: A Biogeographic Approach to Explain Betadiversity. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/306925
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, P. de Tarso Amorim Castro, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2012. Annual and Seasonal Changes in the Structure of Litter-Dwelling Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic Semideciduous Forests. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/959715
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, W. Duarte da Rocha, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2011. As comunidades de formigas de serapilheira nas florestas semidecíduas do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais. MG.BIOTA, Belo Horizonte 3(5): 5-24.
  • Soares, S.M. and J.H. Schoereder. 2001. Ant-nest distribution in a remnant of tropical rainforest in southeastern Brazil. Insectes Sociaux 48:280-286
  • Sobrinho T. G., and J. H. Schoereder. 2007. Edge and shape effects on ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) species richness and composition in forest fragments. Biodivers Conserv 16: 1459–1470.
  • Stroher P. R., A. L. S. Meyer, E. Zarza, W. L. E. Tsai, J. E. McCormack, and M. R. Pie. 2019. Phylogeography of ants from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Organisms Diversity & Evolution https://doi.org/10.1007/s13127-019-00409-z
  • Suguituru S. S., D. R. de Souza, C. de Bortoli Munhae, R. Pacheco, and M. S. de Castro Morini. 2011. Diversidade e riqueza de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em remanescentes de Mata Atlântica na Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê, SP. Biota Neotrop. 13(2): 141-152.
  • Suguituru S. S., M. Santina de Castro Morini, R. M. Feitosa, and R. Rosa da Silva. 2015. Formigas do Alto Tiete. Canal 6 Editora 458 pages
  • Suguituru S. S., R. Rosa Silva, D. R. de Souza, C. de Bortoli Munhae, and M. Santina de Castro Morini. Ant community richness and composition across a gradient from Eucalyptus plantations to secondary Atlantic Forest. Biota Neotrop. 11(1): 369-376.
  • Theunis, L. , M. Gilbert, Y. Roisin and M. Leponce. 2005. Spatial structure of litter-dwelling ant distribution in a subtropical dry forest. Insectes Sociaux. 52:366–377.
  • Ulyssea M.A., C. E. Cereto, F. B. Rosumek, R. R. Silva, and B. C. Lopes. 2011. Updated list of ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) recorded in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, with a discussion of research advances and priorities. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 55(4): 603-–611.
  • Vargas A. B., A. J. Mayhé-Nunes, J. M. Queroz, G. O. Souza, and E. F. Ramos. 2007. Effects of Environmental Factors on the Ant Fauna of Restinga Community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 36(1): 028-037
  • Vittar, F. 2008. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la Mesopotamia Argentina. INSUGEO Miscelania 17(2):447-466
  • Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.
  • da Silva R. R., and R. Silvestre. 2000. Diversidade de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em Seara, oeste de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 13(2): 85-105.
  • da Silva, R.R. and R. Silvestre. 2004. Riqueza da fauna de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) que habita as camadas superficiais do solo em Seara, Santa Catarina. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 44(1): 1-11