Pheidole diligens

Pheidole diligens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. diligens
Binomial name
Pheidole diligens (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Labels

Two series were taken by Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin at Cuzco Amazónico, Peru, both in terra firme rainforest; one was in leaf litter, and another in soil beneath a small palm log. A series of the closely similar Pheidole radoszkowskii was collected at the same locality, but true to the general preference of that species for disturbed habitats, the colony was in seasonally flooded forest. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Pheidole diligens group

Distribution

Pará, Mato Grosso, Goiás, and São Paulo states, Brazil; and Amazonian Peru (Cuzco Amazónico, Madre de Dios). (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -0.6364° to -23.109722°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Brazil (type locality), Peru.

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.

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.

Castes

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Pheidole diligens. Worker. Specimen code casent0901578. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

• diligens. Atta diligens Smith, F. 1858b: 168 (s.w.) BRAZIL. Combination in Pheidole: Mayr, 1886c: 360. See also: Wilson, 2003: 188.

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): A member of the diligens group distinguished from the very similar Pheidole inversa, Pheidole pugnax and Pheidole radoszkowskii, and other diligens group members by the following combination of traits.

Major: yellow; usually (or always) with two teeth on the hypostoma; sculpturing other than foveolation confined to the anterior half of the head capsule and consisting solely of carinulae (no rugoreticulation); all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; only a narrow anterior strip of first gastral tergite foveolate and opaque, rest of gaster smooth and shiny; pilosity extremely sparse overall, and absent on the mesosoma; humerus cornulate in dorsal-oblique view; promesonotal profile with 2 (not 3) convexities in dorsal-oblique view.

Minor: occiput broad, lacking nuchal collar; head, mesosoma, and waist entirely foveolate and opaque; anterior half of first gastral tergite foveolate and opaque, with remainder of gaster smooth and shiny.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.06, HL 1.10, SL 0.76, EL 0.22, PW 0.52. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.54, HL 0.64, SL 0.74, EL 0.14, PW 0.38.

COLOR Major and minor (types): concolorous medium yellow. Fresh material from Brazil is light reddish yellow.

Figure. Upper: lectotype, major (the rear view of the petiolar node is drawn from a major from Paraopeba, Minas Gerais). Lower: paralectotype, minor (the dorsal-oblique view of the mesosoma is drawn from a minor from Goiás state, and the complete antenna is drawn from a minor from “Mt. Transpantaneira,” Brazil). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Type Material

BRAZIL: Vila Nova, “Amazonas” (Vila Nova is now in Pará state).The Natural History Museum - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

L diligens, industrious. (Wilson 2003)

References

• Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 188, fig. major, minor described)
• Albrecht, M., Gotelli, N.J. 2001. Spatial and temporal niche partitioning in grassland ants. Oecologia 126, 134–141 (doi:10.1007/s004420000494).
• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• Franco, W., Ladino, N., Delabie, J.H.C., Dejean, A., Orivel, J., Fichaux, M., Groc, S., Leponce, M., Feitosa, R.M. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674, 509–543 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4674.5.2).
• Kempf, W. W. 1964e. Miscellaneous studies on Neotropical ants. III. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. 7: 45-71 (page 64, replacement name: blumenauensis)
• Mayr, G. 1886c. Notizen über die Formiciden-Sammlung des British Museum in London. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 36: 353-368 (page 360, Combination in Pheidole)
• Santschi, F. 1923d. Pheidole et quelques autres fourmis néotropiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 63: 45-69 (page 50, soldier, worker described)
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 168, soldier, worker described)
• Ulysséa, M.A., Brandão, C.R.F. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57, 217–224 (doi:10.1590/s0085-56262013005000002).
• Vazquez-Franco, C.M., Castano-Meneses, G., Rios-Casanova, L., Morrone, J.J. 2024. Three new species of Pheidole Westwood, 1839 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini) from central Mexico. Zootaxa 5523(2), 192–210 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5523.2.3).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Alonso L., M. Kaspari, and A. Alonso. 2001. Assessment of the Ants of the Lower Urubamba Region, Peru. Pp 87-93. In: Alsonso A, Dallmeier F, Campbell P, editors. Urubamba: The biodiversity of a Peruvian rainforest. SI/MAB Biodiversity Program-Smithsonian Institution. 204 p.
• Coelho M. S., G. W. Fernandes, J. C. Santos, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2009. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) as bioindicators of land restoration in a Brazilian Atlantic forest fragment. Sociobiology 54(1): 51-63.
• Dias N. D. S., R. Zanetti, M. S. Santos, M. F. Gomes, V. Peñaflor, S. M. F. Broglio, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2012. The impact of coffee and pasture agriculture on predatory and omnivorous leaf-litter ants. Journal of Insect Science 13:29. Available online: http://www.insectscience.org/13.29
• Dias N. S., R. Zanetti, M. S. Santos, J. Louzada, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2008. Interaction between forest fragments and adjacent coffee and pasture agroecosystems: responses of the ant communities (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 98(1): 136-142.
• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
• Fichaux M., B. Bechade, J. Donald, A. Weyna, J. H. C. Delabie, J. Murienne, C. Baraloto, and J. Orivel. 2019. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia 189(2): 501-513.
• Fonseca, R.C. and E. Diehl. 2004. Riqueze de formigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) epigeicas em povoamentos de Eucalyptus spp. (Myrtaceae) de diferentes idades no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 48(1):95-100.
• Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
• Macedo-Reis L. E., A. C. Leite, T. J. Guerra, R. Antoniazzi, and F. Neves. Suspended leaf litter in an understorey treelet as habitat extension for ground-dwelling ants in the Atlantic Forest, south-eastern Brazil. Journal of Tropical Ecology https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467419000154
• Nascimento Santos M., J. H. C. Delabie, and J. M. Queiroz. 2019. Biodiversity conservation in urban parks: a study of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio de Janeiro City. Urban Ecosystems https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00872-8
• Nunes F. A., G. B. Martins Segundo, Y. B. Vasconcelos, R. Azevedo, and Y. Quinet. 2011. Ground-foraging ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and rainfall effect on pitfall trapping in a deciduous thorn woodland (Caatinga), Northeastern Brazil. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (4): 1637-1650.
• Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
• Santos M. P. C. J., A. F. Carrano-Moreira, and J. B. Torres. 2012. Diversity of soil ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in dense Atlantic Forest and sugarcane plantationsin the County of Igarassu-PE. Revista Brasileira de Ciências Agrárias 7(4): 648-656.
• Santos M. S., J. N. C. Louzada, N. Dias, R. Zanetti, J. H. C. Delabie, and I. C. Nascimento. 2006. Litter ants richness (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in remnants of a semi-deciduous forest in the Atlantic rain forest, Alto do Rio Grande region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Iheringia, Sér. Zool., Porto Alegre, 96(1): 95-101.
• 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
• Ulyssea M. A., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217–224.
• Ulysséa M. A., C. R. F. Brandão. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217-224.