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Pheidole microgyna
| Pheidole microgyna | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. microgyna |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole microgyna Wheeler, W.M., 1928 | |
P. microgyna appears to be a social parasite of Pheidole minutula. The latter species is abundant in the Amazonian and Guianan rainforests of South America, where it nests in the swollen leaf bases of the melastome understory shrub Maieta guianensis. In an earlier analysis (Wilson 1984b), I pointed out that microgyna may have its own workers, which are anatomically somewhat different from those of minutula, or workers identifiable as minutula. This circumstance suggests that microgyna is a temporary social parasite of minutula or some related free-living species. The small size of the microgyna queens also suggests such a life cycle. However, the status of this unusual form will not be solved until additional collections are made, preferably with field observations, allowing the taxonomy of the minutula complex to be more fully clarified. (Wilson 2003)
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Only known from the type locality.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 5.665549° to 5.665549°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Guyana (type locality).
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. |
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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
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- microgyna. Pheidole microgyna Wheeler, W.M. 1928b: 186 (w.q.m.) GUYANA. See also: Wilson, 1984: 323; Wilson, 2003: 456.
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 member of the flavens group similar to Pheidole minutula but the queen much smaller, close in size to the worker caste of minutula. Body form as illustrated above.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype queen: HW 0.46, HL 0.48, SL 0.40, EL 0.20, PW 0.36.
COLOR Concolorous light reddish brown, appendages yellowish brown.
Figure. Lectotype, queen. Outline of frontal view of head of minutula worker shown to left of that of the queen. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
GUYANA: Kartabo. Museum of Comparative Zoology
Etymology
Gr microgyna, small female. (Wilson 2003)
References
- Wheeler, W. M. 1928b. Mermis parasitism and intercastes among ants. J. Exp. Zool. 50: 165-237 (page 186, worker, queen, male described)
- Wilson, E. O. 1984b. Tropical social parasites in the ant genus Pheidole, with an analysis of the anatomical parasitic syndrome (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Soc. 31: 316-334 (page 323, see also)
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 456, fig. queen, worker described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- LaPolla, J.S. and S.P. Cover. 2005. New species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Guyana, with a list of species known from the country. Tranactions of the American Entomological Society 131(3-4):365-374
- Lapolla, J. S., and S. P. Cover. "New species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) from Guyana, with a list of species known from the country." Transactions of the American Entomological Society 131, no. 3-4 (2005): 365-374.
- Wilson E. O. 1984. Tropical social parasites in the ant genus Pheidole, with an analysis of the anatomical parasitic syndrome (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 31: 316-334.