Paratrechina

Paratrechina
Paratrechina longicornis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Lasiini
Alliance:	Prenolepis genus group
Genus:	Paratrechina Motschoulsky, 1863
Type species
Paratrechina currens (junior synonym of Paratrechina longicornis)
Diversity
5 species (Species Checklist, Species by Country) Paratrechina longicornis Specimen Label

This genus contains the widely distributed pest species Paratrechina longicornis. LaPolla and Fisher (2014) - the center of Paratrechina diversity is in the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions, which raises some interesting questions as to the origin of the now pantropical P. longicornis (LaPolla et al. 2013). A review of the argument that P. longicornis is Asian in origin is provided by Wetterer (2008) and LaPolla et al. (2013) (i.e., on the observation that P. longicornis has only been found in undisturbed habitats in tropical Asia). However, since P. zanjensis appears to be a miombo woodland specialist and its sister taxon is almost certainly P. longicornis, it raises the possibility that P. longicornis might be an African woodland specialist as well. Given the fact that most African woodland habitat has been impacted to some extent by humans, it might be difficult to prove that P. longicornis is in fact native there. It is worth noting that the two new Malagasy species described here are native to dry forest habitats on limestone outcrops. While certainly P. kohli is a rainforest species, we cannot dismiss the possibility that it is the only species native to rainforests in the genus. There is one report of P. longicornis from native forest in Cameroon (Dejean et al. 1996). However, only one specimen of P. longicornis (out of 62,708 specimens) was collected from 15 forest sites in Tanzania (P. Hawkes, pers. comm.), so the conclusions of the previous study remain equivocal. Clearly, the question of the native range of P. longicornis remains an open one, but with the discovery of multiple Paratrechina species in the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions, a more complete survey is needed, and an Asian origin for the species now seems questionable.

Identification

Mandible with 5 teeth; maxillary palps 6-segmented; labial palps 4-segmented; erect setae on dorsum of head randomly placed; scapes lacking erect hairs; abundant erect setae on legs and dorsum of mesosoma. Eyes well developed and convex, surpassing outline of head in full frontal view, placed midlength and laterally on head. Dorsal mesosomal setae arranged loosely in pairs; propodeum lacking erect setae; propodeum with a low-domed dorsal face; overall mesosoma shape long and slender. (LaPolla et al. 2010)

See images of species within this genus

Keys including this Genus

• Key to Australian Genera of Formicinae
• Key to North American Genera of Formicinae
• Key to Prenolepis Group Genera (Formicinae)
• Key to the Ant Genera of New Mexico

 

Keys to Species in this Genus

• Key to Paratrechina Species
• Key to Paratrechina of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Paratrechina longicornis has been spread by humans and obtained a pantropical distribution. It is also found in temperate climates, largely through establishing itself in buildings and other artificial environments such as greenhouses. (Wetterer et al., 1999, Wetterer 2008). It is likely that this species arose in South-east Asia but this has yet to be confirmed (LaPolla et al., 2013; Wetterer, 2008).

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

	Afrotropical Region	Australasian Region	Indo-Australian Region	Malagasy Region	Nearctic Region	Neotropical Region	Oriental Region	Palaearctic Region
Species	2	1	1	3	1	1	1	2
Total Species	2841	1736	3045	932	835	4379	1741	2862

Fossils

A fossil specimen from Zhangpu amber, Zhangpu County, Fujian Province, China (Miocene) (an unidentified species, Wang et al., 2021) is known, but its generic placement remains uncertain.

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

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Species Uncertain

• An unknown species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Gollumiella longipetiolata (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

All Associate Records for Genus

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Taxon	Relationship	Associate Type	Associate Taxon	Associate Relationship	Locality	Source	Notes
Paratrechina	host	eucharitid wasp	Gollumiella longipetiolata	parasitoid		Quevillon, 2018	multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Absidia corymbifera	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Acremonium sp.	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Aspergillus candidus	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Aspergillus ochraceus	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Aspergillus versicolor	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Cladosporium sp.	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Cunninghamella equinalata	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Cunninghamella polymorpha	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Geotrichum sp.	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Penicillium sp.	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	associate (details unknown)	fungus	Purpureocillium lilacinum	associate (details unknown)		Quevillon, 2018
Paratrechina longicornis	host	cricket	Myrmecophilus americanus	myrmecophile
Paratrechina longicornis	host	fungus	Aspergillus flavus	parasitoid		Quevillon, 2018	encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest
Paratrechina longicornis	host	fungus	Metarhizium anisopliae	parasitoid		Quevillon, 2018	encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest
Paratrechina longicornis	mutualist	aphid	Aphis coreopsidis	trophobiont		Favret et al., 2010; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Paratrechina longicornis	mutualist	aphid	Aphis craccivora	trophobiont		Shiran et al., 2013; Rakhshan and Ahmad, 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Paratrechina longicornis	mutualist	aphid	Aphis gossypii	trophobiont		Idechiil et al., 2007; Lokeshwari et al., 2015; Saddiqui et al., 2019
Paratrechina longicornis	prey	tiger beetle	Cicindela duponti	predator	Western Ghats, India	Sinu et al., 2006

Flight Period

All Flight Records for Genus

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Taxon	Month	Source	Notes
Paratrechina longicornis	Jun • Jul	antkeeping.info

Life History Traits

• Mean colony size: 2000 (Greer et al., 2021)
• Compound colony type: not parasitic (Greer et al., 2021)
• Nest site: hypogaeic; arboreal (Greer et al., 2021)
• Diet class: omnivore (Greer et al., 2021)
• Foraging stratum: subterranean/leaf litter (Greer et al., 2021)
• Foraging behaviour: cooperative (Greer et al., 2021)

Morphology

Worker Morphology

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 • Eyes: 11-100 ommatidia • Pronotal Spines: absent • Mesonotal Spines: absent • Propodeal Spines: absent • Petiolar Spines: absent • Caste: none or weak • Sting: absent • Metaplural Gland: present • Cocoon: absent

Karyotype

All Karyotype Records for Genus

• See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

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Taxon	Haploid	Diploid	Karyotype	Locality	Source	Notes
Paratrechina longicornis		16		Taiwan	Hung et al., 1972
Paratrechina longicornis	16			Indonesia	Imai et al., 1985
Paratrechina longicornis	8	16	14M+2A	India	Imai et al., 1984

Phylogeny

Formicinae

Myrmelachistini ⊞(2 genera) ⊟ Brachymyrmex  (41 species, 0 fossil species) Myrmelachista  (69 species, 0 fossil species) Lasiini ⊞(11 genera) ⊟ Cladomyrma  (13 species, 0 fossil species) Lasius  (140 species, 23 fossil species) Myrmecocystus  (31 species, 0 fossil species) Metalasius  (1 species, 1 fossil species) Paraparatrechina  (42 species, 0 fossil species) Prenolepis  (21 species, 1 fossil species) Zatania  (6 species, 1 fossil species) Nylanderia  (149 species, 2 fossil species) Pseudolasius  (66 species, 0 fossil species) Euprenolepis  (8 species, 0 fossil species) Paratrechina  (5 species, 0 fossil species) Melophorini ⊞(9 genera) ⊟ Melophorus  (92 species, 0 fossil species) Stigmacros  (39 species, 0 fossil species) Myrmecorhynchus  (3 species, 1 fossil species) Lasiophanes  (6 species, 0 fossil species) Notostigma  (2 species, 0 fossil species) Notoncus  (6 species, 0 fossil species) Pseudonotoncus  (2 species, 0 fossil species) Prolasius  (19 species, 0 fossil species) Teratomyrmex  (3 species, 0 fossil species) Formicini ⊞(8 genera) ⊟ Polyergus  (15 species, 0 fossil species) Formica  (283 species, 69 fossil species) Iberoformica  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Bajcaridris  (3 species, 0 fossil species) Proformica  (33 species, 0 fossil species) Cataglyphis  (124 species, 0 fossil species) Rossomyrmex  (4 species, 0 fossil species) Gesomyrmecini Gesomyrmex  (7 species, 12 fossil species) Oecophyllini Oecophylla  (15 species, 16 fossil species) Plagiolepidini ⊞(9 genera) ⊟ Anoplolepis  (15 species, 0 fossil species) Tapinolepis  (18 species, 0 fossil species) Aphomomyrmex  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Petalomyrmex  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Lepisiota  (147 species, 0 fossil species) Plagiolepis  (78 species, 10 fossil species) Acropyga  (42 species, 1 fossil species) Agraulomyrmex  (3 species, 0 fossil species) Gigantiopini Gigantiops  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Santschiellini Santschiella  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Myrmoteratini Myrmoteras  (41 species, 0 fossil species) Camponotini ⊞(8 genera) ⊟ Colobopsis  (117 species, 1 fossil species) Opisthopsis  (20 species, 0 fossil species) Dinomyrmex  (2 species, 0 fossil species) Polyrhachis  (793 species, 1 fossil species) Camponotus  (1,504 species, 29 fossil species) Overbeckia  (3 species, 0 fossil species) Calomyrmex  (14 species, 0 fossil species) Echinopla  (39 species, 0 fossil species)

See Phylogeny of Formicinae for details.

Nomenclature

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

• PARATRECHINA [Formicinae: Plagiolepidini]
  • Paratrechina Motschoulsky, 1863: 13. Type-species: Paratrechina currens (junior synonym of Formica longicornis), by subsequent designation of Wheeler, W.M. 1911f: 170.
  • Paratrechina junior synonym of Prenolepis: Dalla Torre, 1893: 177; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 940.
  • Paratrechina revived from synonymy: Emery, 1925b: 216.

Taxonomic Notes

Pashaei Rad et al. (2018) incorrectly state that the type species of this genus is P. vagabunda rather than P. currens as subsequently designated of Wheeler (1911f: 170). This leads them to incorrectly believe that Nylanderia is a junior synonym of Paratrechina. See LaPolla et al. (2010) for details.

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

LaPolla and Fisher (2014) - Monomorphic, medium sized (2.1–3.2 mm in total length); ranging from almost black to brownish-yellow, with lighter mandibles, antennae (especially funicular segments towards tips) and legs (especially distal portion of tibiae and tarsi). Head with medially erect macrosetae roughly paired, extending through the medial portion of clypeus. Antennae 12 segmented; scapes long, with scape index above 140, in most species around or above 200 (SI range 143–226). Scapes with a dense layer of pubescence. Head is usually distinctly longer than wide, with cephalic index below 100 (CI range 71–94); posterolateral corners rounded, with straight posterior margin. Eyes large relative to head width (REL2 greater than 25); eyes distinctly convex, extending beyond head margin in full-face view. Mandibles in all species, except P. kohli, with 5 teeth; in P. kohli 8 teeth present, with 7th tooth on basal angle of mandible and 8th tooth on inner mandibular margin; mandalus large and anteriorly placed; palps very long; palp formula 6:4. Mesosoma elongated, most robust in P. kohli; most gracile in P. longicornis; propodeal dorsal face variable from either nearly flat (P. longicornis) or distinctly convex (P. antsingy); propodeum without macrosetae, anteriorly occasionally with a sparse layer of pubescence; pronotal setal count 6–12 (both sides of notum); mesonotal setal count 4–8 (both sides of notum). In lateral view, petiole cuneate, broadly rounded dorsally, with much longer posterior face and not surpassing the height of the propodeum. Legs distinctly long (profemur length 0.6–1.0 mm). Gaster robust, covered in abundant erect macrosetae.

Males are known only from Paratrechina longicornis (LaPolla et al. 2013), so it is impossible at this time to discuss general male characteristics for this genus.

References

• Agosti, D. 1991. Revision of the oriental ant genus Cladomyrma, with an outline of the higher classification of the Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 293-310. (page 296, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Pseudolasius genus group)
• Agosti, D.; Bolton, B. 1990a. The identity of Andragnathus, a forgotten formicine ant genus (Hym., Formicidae). Entomol. Mon. Mag. 126: 75-77 (page 75, Paratrechina senior synonym of Andragnathus)
• Bernard, F. 1953b [1952]. La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mém. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire 19: 165-270 (page 257, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Bolton, B. 1994. Identification guide to the ant genera of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 222 pp. (page 50, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 23, 104, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Plagiolepidini)
• Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L., Prebus, M.M. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47, 113-151 (doi:10.1111/syen.12522).
• Burchill, A.T., Moreau, C.S. 2016. Colony size evolution in ants: macroevolutionary trends. Insectes Sociaux 63, 291–298 (doi:10.1007/s00040-016-0465-3).
• Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
• Chapman, J. W.; Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327 (page 218, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Prenolepidini)
• Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 177, Paratrechina junior synonym of Prenolepis)
• Dlussky, G. M.; Fedoseeva, E. B. 1988. Origin and early stages of evolution in ants. Pp. 70-144 in: Ponomarenko, A. G. (ed.) Cretaceous biocenotic crisis and insect evolution. Moskva: Nauka, 232 pp. (page 77, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Donisthorpe, H. 1943g. A list of the type-species of the genera and subgenera of the Formicidae. [part]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 11(10): 617-688 (page 682, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Acanthomyopsini)
• Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 216, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini; Paratrechina as genus)
• Fernandez, F., Guerrero, R.J., Sánchez-Restrepo, A.F. 2021. Sistemática y diversidad de las hormigas neotropicales. Revista Colombiana de Entomología 47, 1–20 (doi:10.25100/socolen.v47i1.11082).
• Hölldobler, B.; Wilson, E. O. 1990. The ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, xii + 732 pp. (page 18, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Prenolepidini (anachronism))
• Jaffe, K. 1993. El mundo de las hormigas. Baruta, Venezuela: Equinoccio (Ediciones de la Universidad Simón Bolívar), 188 pp. (page 14, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Kempf, W. W. 1972b. Catálogo abreviado das formigas da regia~o Neotropical. Stud. Entomol. 15: 3-344 (page 182, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• LaPolla, J. S., S. G. Brady, and S. O. Shattuck. 2010. Phylogeny and taxonomy of the Prenolepis genus-group of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology. 35:118-1*LaPolla, J.S. & Fisher, B.L. 2014. Then there were five: a reexamination of the ant genus Paratrechina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 422, 35–48 (doi: 10.3897/zookeys.422.7779).
• LaPolla, J.S., Hawkes, P.G., Fisher, J.N. 2013. Taxonomic review of the ant genus Paratrechina, with a description of a new species from Africa. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 35: 71–82 (doi: 10.3897/JHR.35.5628)
• Lorite, P., Palomeque, T. 2010. Karyotype evolution in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of the known ant chromosome numbers. Myrmecological News 13: 89-102.
• Matos-Maraví, P., Clouse, R.M., Sarnat, E.M., Economo, E.P., LaPolla, J.S., Borovanska, M., Rabeling, C., Czekanski-Moir, J., Latumahina, F., Wilson, E.O., Janda, M. 2018. An ant genus-group (Prenolepis) illuminates the biogeography and drivers of insect diversification in the Indo-Pacific. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 123, 16–25 (doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2018.02.007).
• Motschoulsky, V. de. 1863. Essai d'un catalogue des insectes de l'île Ceylan (suite). Bull. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 36(3 3: 1-153 (page 13, Paratrechina as genus)
• Pashaei Rad, S., Taylor, B., Torabi, R., Aram, E., Abolfathi, G., Afshari, R., Borjali, F., Ghatei, M., Hediary, F., Jazini, F., Heidary Kiah, V., Mahmoudi, Z., Safariyan, F., Seiri, M. 2018. Further records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Iran. Zoology in the Middle East 64, 145-159 (doi:10.1080/09397140.2018.1442301).
• Smith, D. R. 1979. Superfamily Formicoidea. Pp. 1323-1467 in: Krombein, K. V., Hurd, P. D., Smith, D. R., Burks, B. D. (eds.) Catalog of Hymenoptera in America north of Mexico. Volume 2. Apocrita (Aculeata). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, pp. i-xvi, 1199-2209. (page 1442, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Stitz, H. 1939. Die Tierwelt Deutschlands und der angrenzenden Meersteile nach ihren Merkmalen und nach ihrer Lebensweise. 37. Theil. Hautflüger oder Hymenoptera. I: Ameisen oder Formicidae. Jena: G. Fischer, 428 pp. (page 379, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Lasiini)
• Trager, J. C. 1984b. A revision of the genus Paratrechina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the continental United States. Sociobiology 9: 49-162 (page 58, Paratrechina senior synonym of Nylanderia and Paraparatrechina, and revision of North American species)
• Wetterer, J.K. 2008. Worldwide spread of the longhorn crazy ant, Paratrechina longicornis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecoloigcal News 11, 137-149.
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1970b. Ant larvae of the subfamily Formicinae: second supplement. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 63: 648-656 (page 652, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Myrmelachistinini)
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1976b. Ant larvae: review and synthesis. Mem. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 7: 1-108 (page 101, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Myrmelachistinini)
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1985b. A simplified conspectus of the Formicidae. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 111: 255-264 (page 258, Paratrechina in Formicinae, Brachymyrmecini)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1911g. A list of the type species of the genera and subgenera of Formicidae. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 21: 157-175 (page 170, Type-species: Paratrechina currens (junior synonym of Paratrechina longicornis), by subsequent designation)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1922j. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 711-1004 (page 940, Paratrechina junior synonym of Prenolepis)