Pheidole nubicola

Pheidole nubicola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. nubicola
Binomial name
	Pheidole nubicola; Wilson, 2003
Synonyms
	Pheidole cielana Wilson, 2003; Pheidole petrensis Wilson, 2003;

This species occurs in transitional tropical-temperate cloud forest. One colony collected at Rancho Cielo by P. S. Ward was in a rotten log. Another I found on Mt. Orizaba was under a large rock in hardwood forest dominated by Liquidambar and Carpinus, with a Cyathea-melastome understory. Winged queens were present in a nest at Rancho Cielo on 23 July. A male was present in the nest on 26 May. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

From Wilson (2003): Known from the type locality, and from the La Perla-Rancho Somecla road on Mt. Orizaba, Veracruz, 1800–2000 m (E. O. Wilson).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 23.101° to 16.6536°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Mexico (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.

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.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

nubicola. Pheidole nubicola Wilson, 2003: 329, figs. (s.w.) MEXICO.
cielana. Pheidole cielana Wilson, 2003: 275, figs. (s.w.) MEXICO.
- Junior synonym of nubicola: Longino, 2019: 51.
petrensis. Pheidole petrensis Wilson, 2003: 337, figs. (s.w.) MEXICO.
- Junior synonym of nubicola: Longino, 2019: 51.

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

Description

A member of the fallax group similar to Pheidole cielana of Mexico and Pheidole inca of Peru, distinguished as follows.

Major: frontal lobes, sides of head, most of vertex, and pronotal dorsum rugoreticulate; median ocellus present; antennal scape attains occipital border; head bicolored (see Color below).

Minor: all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; pronotal dorsum rugoreticulate; midclypeus with scattered short rugulae; occiput strongly constricted but lacks nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.18, HL 1.20, SL 0.96, EL 0.20, PW 0.62. Paratype minor: HW 0.64, HL 0.74, SL 0.94, EL 0.16, PW 0.42.

COLOR Major: body medium brown; head bicolored, with anterior fourth dark yellow (except for clypeus and frontal triangle, which are medium brown); appendages dark yellow.

Pheidole cielana

A member of the fallax group distinguished by the following combination of traits.

Major: medium-sized; reddish brown; median ocellus present; entire body covered by dense, erect to suberect hairs; scape approaches the occipital corner by less than its own width; extensive rugoreticula occur around the eyes and on the frontal lobes; anterior half of pronotal dorsum and all of mesonotal dorsum rugoreticulate.

Minor: all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque, and anterior half of median strip of first gastral tergite shagreened and opaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.14, HL 1.22, SL 0.96, EL 0.20, PW 0.60. Paratype minor: HW 0.64, HL 0.74, SL 0.96, EL 0.16, PW 0.44.

COLOR Major: body and most of head medium reddish brown, appendages and sides of head anterior to eye light reddish brown.

Minor: overall medium reddish brown, tarsi yellow.

Pheidole petrensis

A member of the fallax group similar to Pheidole haskinsorum, Pheidole hector, Pheidole lattkei and Pheidole susannae, distinguished as follows.

Major: head subrectangular in full-face view; tip of antennal scape just reaches occipital corner; almost entire head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; entire central strip of all the gastral tergites shagreened and opaque; rugoreticulum limited to space between eye and antennal fossa; carinulae limited mostly to anterior half of head, absent from rest of body; propodeal spines moderately long and thin.

Minor: propodeal spines long, very thin, needle-like; head capsule in full-face view forms almost perfect oval; nuchal collar present; entire head and body foveolate and opaque; entire central strip of first gastral tergite shagreened and opaque to subopaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.16, HL 1.26, SL 1.02, EL 0.22, PW 0.62. Paratype minor: HW 0.68, HL 0.84, SL 1.06, EL 0.20, PW 0.46.

COLOR Major: body and appendages medium to dark brown; a darker brown circular spot is present on vertex.

Minor: body concolorous light brown.

Pheidole nubicola. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Pheidole cielana. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Pheidole petrensis. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Type Material

MEXICO: Rancho del Cielo, Sierra de Guatemala, Tamaulipas, 1070 m, col. Cornell University Expedition group, 1965. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Pheidole cielana: MEXICO: Rancho Cielo, 17 km northwest of Gomez Farias, Tamaulipas, 1160 m, col. Philip S. Ward. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Pheidole petrensis: MEXICO: 24 km west of Cuernavaca, Morelos, 2200 m, col. William P. MacKay. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L nubicola, cloud-dweller, referring to the mountain habitat of the type colony.

Pheidole cielana: Named after the type locality.

Pheidole petrensis: Gr L petrensis, at a stone, alluding to the microhabitat of the type colony.

References

Baena, M.L., Escobar, F., Valenzuela, J.E. 2019. Diversity snapshot of green–gray space ants in two Mexican cities. International Journal of Tropical Insect Science 40, 239–250 (doi:10.1007/s42690-019-00073-y).
Longino, J.T. 2019. Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American Wet Forest. Zootaxa 4599: 1–126 (DOI 10.11646/zootaxa.4599.1.1).
Varela-Hernández, F., Medel-Zosayas, B., Martínez-Luque, E.O., Jones, R.W., De la Mora, A. 2020. Biodiversity in central Mexico: Assessment of ants in a convergent region. Southwestern Entomologist 454: 673-686.
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).
Vázquez-Franco, C.M., Morrone, J.J. 2022. The genus Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Puebla, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 93: e933820 (doi:10.22201/ib.20078706e.2022.93.3820).
Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, [ix] + 794 pp.: 794pp (page 329, fig. major, minor described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Castano-Meneses, G., M. Vasquez-Bolanos, J. L. Navarrete-Heredia, G. A. Quiroz-Rocha, and I. Alcala-Martinez. 2015. Avances de Formicidae de Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
Longino J. T. 2019. Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American wet forest. Zootaxa 4599: 1-126
Varela-Hernandez, F., M. Rocha-Ortega, W. P. Mackay, and R. W. Jones. 2016. Lista preliminar de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del estado de Queretaro, Mexico. Pages 429-435 in . W. Jones., and V. Serrano-Cardenas, editors. Historia Natural de Queretaro. Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Mexico.
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