Pheidole davisi

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole davisi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. davisi
Binomial name
Pheidole davisi
Wheeler, W.M., 1905

Pheidole davisi casent0104757 profile 1.jpg

Pheidole davisi casent0104757 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

From Wilson (2003): In the eastern United States, davisi is typically an inhabitant of pine barrens, where it has been found in crater nests constructed in open sandy areas exposed to the sun. Its habitat in Mexico is unknown. Colonies have been observed to harvest seeds (Stefan Cover).

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

In the United States, davisi has been recorded from New York to North Carolina and northern Alabama. I have also identified a series collected by Stuart and Jarmila Kukalová-Peck from the Mesa de Chipinque Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, in northeastern Mexico. The species thus appears to have a disjunct distribution between the southeastern U.S. and northeastern Mexico, of the kind known in many other animal and plant species. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 40.8825° to 32.45°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Mexico.

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.
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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

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: monogynous (Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole davisi casent0103407 head 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103407 profile 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103407 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103407 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0103407. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole davisi casent0103387 head 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103387 profile 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103387 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103387 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0103387. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.
Pheidole davisi casent0104757 head 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0104757 profile 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0104757 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0104757 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0104757. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Pheidole davisi casent0103143 head 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103143 profile 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103143 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103143 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0103143. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole davisi casent0103386 head 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103386 profile 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103386 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole davisi casent0103386 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0103386. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • davisi. Pheidole davisi Wheeler, W.M. 1905f: 380 (s.w.) U.S.A. See also: Wilson, 2003: 574.

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

Description

From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS A small brown member of the pilifera group distinguished by the following traits.

Major: mesonotal convexity small, obtuse-subangular; metanotal groove absent, with metanotal profile forming a continuous line with that of the basal propodeal face; mesonotal dorsum, mesopleuron, and side of propodeum covered with longitudinal carinulae, foveolate, and opaque; pronotal dorsum transversely and pronotal sides longitudinally carinulate, foveolate, and opaque.

Minor: mesopleuron and side of propodeum longitudinally carinulate; all of mesosoma foveolate and opaque.

Close to Pheidole adrianoi of Florida but differing in the above and other characters.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Paratype major: HW 0.98, HL 0.96, SL 0.44, EL 0.12, PW 0.46. Paratype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.46, SL 0.42, EL 0.08, PW 0.30.

COLOR Major: body light reddish to yellowish brown.

Minor: body concolorous dark reddish brown; antennae yellowish brown.


Pheidole davisi Wilson 2003.jpg

Figure. Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Type Material

NEW JERSEY: Lakehurst. Museum of Comparative Zoology - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

Eponymous. (Wilson 2003)

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Coovert, G.A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series Volume 15(2):1-196
  • Frye J. A., T. Frye, and T. W. Suman. 2014. The ant fauna of inland sand dune communities in Worcester County, Maryland. Northeastern Naturalist, 21(3): 446-471.
  • Graham, J.H., A.J. Krzysik, D.A. Kovacic, J.J. Duda, D.C. Freeman, J.M. Emlen, J.C. Zak, W.R. Long, M.P. Wallace, C. Chamberlin-Graham, J.P. Nutter and H.E. Balbach. 2008. Ant Community Composition across a Gradient of Disturbed Military Landscapes at Fort Benning, Georgia. Southeastern Naturalist 7(3):429-448
  • Ivanov K., L. Hightower, S. T. Dash, and J. B. Keiper. 2019. 150 years in the making: first comprehensive list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Virginia, USA. Zootaxa 4554 (2): 532–560.
  • Lynch J. F. 1988. An annotated checklist and key to the species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Chesapeake Bay region. The Maryland Naturalist 31: 61-106
  • MacGown J. A., J. G. Hill, and M. Deyrup. 2009. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Little Ohoopee River Dunes, Emanuel County, Georgia. J. Entomol. Sci. 44(3): 193-197.
  • Van Pelt A., and J. B. Gentry. 1985. The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina. Dept. Energy, Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC., Report SRO-NERP-14, 56 p.
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press