Pheidole perpilosa

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

Pheidole perpilosa casent0102888 profile 1.jpg

Pheidole perpilosa casent0102888 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Cover found colonies nesting in forests containing various combinations of pine, oak, and juniper, often in valleys, nesting under rocks or in open soil. Colonies are monogynous and large, containing up to 1500 minors and majors. The workers are predaceous; seed caches have not been found in the nests. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Stefan Cover has collected several colonies at 1400–1850 m in the mountains of central and southern Arizona south of the Mogollon rim, in particular Cochise, Gila, and Yavapai Counties. He reports a colony intermediate between perpilosa and Pheidole vallicola from Rucker Canyon, Cochise Co. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 33.70138889° to 31.339824°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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

Association with Other Organisms

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  • This species is a host for the phorid fly Apocephalus brunneiventris (a parasite) (phorid.net) (attacked).

Castes

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole perpilosa casent0102889 head 1.jpgPheidole perpilosa casent0102889 profile 1.jpgPheidole perpilosa casent0102889 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole perpilosa casent0102889 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0102889. Photographer Jen Fogarty, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • perpilosa. Pheidole perpilosa Wilson, 2003: 336, figs. (s.w.) U.S.A.

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 cockerelli and Pheidole gulo in some characters, distinguished as follows.

Major: yellow; densely covered by long erect to suberect hairs (many as long as Eye Length); rugoreticulum covers most of space between each eye and antennal fossa, area behind (ventral to) eye, and a broad, continuous band across the dorsal surface of the head posterior to the eyes; frontal lobes and dorsal surface of occiput carinulate; all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; mesonotal convexity subangulate in dorsal-oblique view; apex of petiolar node tapered in side view; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped.

Minor: entire body densely covered by erect to suberect hairs, many longer than Eye Length; entire head and most of mesosoma foveolate and opaque; most of dorsal surface of head carinulate; anterior margin of pronotum rugulose; occipital margin in frontal view broad, lacking nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.34, HL 1.40, SL 0.80, EL 0.22, PW 0.70. Paratype minor: HW 0.70, HL 0.82, SL 0.92, EL 0.16, PW 0.52.

COLOR Major: body yellowish brown except for gaster, which is light brown.

Minor: body plain medium brown except for genae, which are brownish yellow; appendages brownish yellow.


Pheidole perpilosa Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Type Locality Information

ARIZONA: Pinal Mt., Gila Co., 1600 m, col. Stefan Cover.

Etymology

L perpilosa, very hairy.

References

  • Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, [ix] + 794 pp.: 794pp (page 336, fig. major, minor described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Cover S. P., and R. A. Johnson. 20011. Checklist of Arizona Ants. Downloaded on January 7th at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/AZants-2011%20updatev2.pdf
  • Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
  • LaBrun, E.G. and D.H. Feener Jr. 2007. When trade-offs interact: balance of terror enforces dominance discovery trade-off in a local ant assemblage. Journal of Animal Ecology 76:58-64
  • LeBrun, E.G. 2005. Who Is the Top Dog in Ant Communities? Resources, Parasitoids, and Multiple Competitive Hierarchies. Oecologia 142(4):643-652
  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press