Polyrhachis lacteipennis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Polyrhachis lacteipennis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Polyrhachis
Subgenus: Myrmhopla
Species: P. lacteipennis
Binomial name
Polyrhachis lacteipennis
Smith, F., 1858

Polyrhachis lacteipennis casent0227531 p 1 high.jpg

Polyrhachis lacteipennis casent0227531 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies
Synonyms

This species nests inside the trunks of date palm trees. Several additional workers were found in leaf litter under date palm trees where the soil was loose and dry (Sharaf et al., 2018). Pashaei Rad et al. (2018) found this species in Iran in a very low rainfall area.

Identification

Workers of Polyrhachis lacteipennis vary from 4.5-7.0 mm in body length. They are black in colour with the head and thorax finely punctured and granulate. Pubescence is almost entirely absent except for a few scattered erect hairs on the front of the head and on the apical segments of the gaster. Head is broadly oval; clypeus has a distinct medial vertical carina and is briefly lobed; antennal carinae wide apart and not divergent. They have three pairs of spines: pronotal spines are very short, thick and directed obliquely outwards; propodeal (or metanotal) spines are erect and divergent with the tip slightly bent outwards; two large petiolar spines curved to the shape of the gaster on the upper lateral angles with two obtuse or very small teeth between them. Gaster is short, opaque and globose (modified from Bingham 1903).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 34.343056° to 13.72333333°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
Oriental Region: India (type locality), Nepal, Sri Lanka.
Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Oman, Turkmenistan.

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.
pChart

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.
pChart

Biology

These ants construct carton nests at the base of trees, by cementing twigs with their salivary exudates. They are one of the most commonly encountered ants in the urban regions of South India (Narendra & Kumar 2006).

Polyrhachis lacteipennis.jpg

Association with Other Organisms

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis craccivora (a trophobiont) (Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis frangulae (a trophobiont) (Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019).
  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Chaitophorous populialbae (a trophobiont) (Degen et al., 1986; Saddiqui et al., 2019) (as Polyrhachis simplex).
  • This species is a mutualist for the aphid Rhopalosiphum maidis (a trophobiont) (Shiran et al., 2013; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Polyrhachis lacteipennis casent0903386 h 1 high.jpgPolyrhachis lacteipennis casent0903386 p 1 high.jpgPolyrhachis lacteipennis casent0903386 p 2 high.jpgPolyrhachis lacteipennis casent0903386 d 1 high.jpgPolyrhachis lacteipennis casent0903386 l 1 high.jpg
Holotype of Polyrhachis lacteipennisQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0903386. 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.

  • lacteipennis. Polyrhachis lacteipennis Smith, F. 1858b: 60, pl. 4, fig. 40 (q.) INDIA. Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 195. Senior synonym of simplex (and its junior synonym spiniger): Bolton, 1974b: 177. Current subspecies: nominal plus obsoleta.
  • simplex. Polyrhachis simplex Mayr, 1862: 682 (q.) INDIA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1970: 649 (l.); Imai, Baroni Urbani, et al. 1984: 9 (k.). Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 196. Junior synonym of lacteipennis: Bolton, 1974b: 177. See also: Bingham, 1903: 394; Ofer, 1970: 49.

Taxonomic Notes

Pashaei Rad et al. (2018): Dietrich (2004) separated specimens from Israel, Jordan and Yemen as a new species, Polyrhachis palaearctica. Antweb do not have photographic images of the type but Dietrich gave SEM images of the lateral and dorsal alitrunk of the worker and the dorsal alitrunk of the queen. The worker appears to be a close fit to those from Israel and Iran held by B.T. Dietrich, however, mentioned P. lacteipennis only vaguely and did not sight the type queen or, apparently, the type of what he refers to as “Polyrhachis simplex”, which also is not on Antweb. The SEM image of the P. palaearctica queen is a near exact match for the P. lacteipennis queen, CASENT0903386. He separated Polyrhachis grisescens as a separate species but the type images (CASENT0905639) also are little or no different from the fresh specimens from Israel and Iran. So we leave our findings as P. lacteipennis.

Description

Karyotype

  • 2n = 42, karyotype = 6M+36A (India) (Imai et al., 1984) (as Polyrhachis simplex).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, M. Bharti, and M. Pfeiffer. 2013. Ant species richness, endemicity and functional groups, along an elevational gradient in the Himalayas. Asian Myrmecology 5: 79-101.
  • Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, and A. Kaur. 2009. Seasonal patterns of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Punjab Shivalik. Halteres 1(1): 36-47.
  • Bolton B. 1974. New synonymy and a new name in the ant genus Polyrhachis F. Smith (Hym., Formicidae). Entomol. Mon. Mag. 109: 172-180
  • Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
  • Collingwood C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7: 230-302.
  • Collingwood C. A., D. Agosti, M. R. Sharaf, A. Van Harten, 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod Fauna of the UAE 4: 405-474
  • Collingwood C.A. 1970. Formicidae (Hymenopter: Aculeata) of Nepal. Himalaya Khumbu Himal, 3: 371-388.
  • Collingwood C.A., D.Agosti, M.R. Sharaf, and A. van Harten. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE, 4: 405–474
  • Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
  • Collingwood, C. A. "Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7 (1985): 230-302.
  • Dad J. M., S. A. Akbar, H. Bharti, and A. A. Wachkoo. 2019. Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites ofWestern Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 39: 219–228.
  • Derwesh A. I. 1965. A preliminary list of identified insects and some arachnids of Iraq. Ministry of Agriculture. Government Pressm Baghdad Iraq. Bulletin n 112: 128 pages.
  • Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
  • Emery C. 1901. Ameisen gesammelt in Ceylon von Dr. W. Horn 1899. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1901: 113-122.
  • Emery, C. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der palaearktischen Ameisen." Öfversigt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Förhandlingar (Helsinki) 20 (1898): 124-151.
  • Finzi, B. "Risultati scientifici della spedizione di S. A. S. il Principe Alessandro della Torre e Tasso nell'Egitto e peninsola del Sinai. XI. Formiche." Bulletin de la Société Entomologique d'Egypte 20 (1936): 155-210.
  • Forel A. 1893. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part III. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 8: 17-36.
  • Forel A. 1907. Formicides du Musée National Hongrois. Ann. Hist.-Nat. Mus. Natl. Hung. 5: 1-42.
  • Forel A. 1910. Glanures myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 54: 6-32.
  • IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
  • Imai H. T., C. Baroni Urbani, M. Kubota, G. P. Sharma, M. H. Narasimhanna, B. C. Das, A. K. Sharma, A. Sharma, G. B. Deodikar, V. G. Vaidya, and M. R. Rajasekarasetty. 1984. Karyological survey of Indian ants. Japanese Journal of Genetics 59: 1-32.
  • Kumar D., and M. Archana. 2008. Ant community variation in urban and agricultural ecosystems in Vadodara District (Gujarat State), western India. Asian Myrmecology 2: 85-93.
  • Menozzi C. 1929. Formiche del Sinai raccolte dal Dr. F. S. Bodenheimer, con descrizione di una nuova specie di Monomorium del sottogen. Equestrimessor. Pp. 125-128 in: Bodenheimer, F. S., Theodor, O. Ergebnisse der Sinai-Expedition 1927 der Hebräischen Universität, Jerusalem. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schum, 142 pp.
  • Monks J., S. Ross, M. Geiser, J. De Prins, M. Sharaf, N. Wyatt, S. Al Rijeibi, and A. Polaszek. 2019. A preliminary survey of the insect fauna of the Hajar Mountain Range, Oman. Journal of Natural History 53(15-16): 939-963.
  • Mukerjee D. 1930. Report on a collection of ants in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34: 149-163.
  • Narendra A., H. Gibb, and T. M. Ali. 2011. Structure of ant assemblages in Western Ghats, India: role of habitat, disturbance and introduced species. Insect Conservation and diversity 4(2): 132-141.
  • Pajni H. R., and R. K. Suri. 1978. First report on the Formicid fauna (Hymenoptera) of Chandigarh. Res. Bull. (Science) Punjab University 29: 5-12.
  • Paknia O., A. Radchenko, H. Alipanah, and M. Pfeiffer. 2008. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Iran. Myrmecological News 11: 151-159.
  • Pashaei Rad S., B. Taylor, R. Torabi, E. Aram, G. Abolfathi, R. Afshari, F. Borjali, M. Ghatei, F. Hediary, F. Jazini, V. Heidary Kiah, Z. Mahmoudi, F. Safariyan, and M. Seiri. 2018. Further records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Iran. Zoology in the Middle East 64(2): 145-159.
  • Pisarski B. 1964. Fauna Mrowek Afganistanu. Bibliogr. k. 160-166, Nieoprawiony maszynopis pracy, Praca doktorska. Instytut Zoologiczny PAN, 1964, Bibliogr. p. 160-166
  • Raci N., C. Sravanthy, C. Sammaiah, and M. Thirupahaiah. 2015. Biodiversity of ants (Insecta-Hymenoptera) in agroecosystem and grass land in Jammikunta, Karimnagar District, Telangana, India. Journal ofEnvironment 4(1): 11-16.
  • Rafinejad J., A. Zareii, K. Akbarzadeh, M. Azad, F. Biglaryan, S. Doosti, and M. M. Sedaghat. 2009. Faunestic study of ants with emphasis on the health risk of stinging ants in Qeshm Island, Iran. Iranian J. Arthropod-Borne Dis 3(1): 53-59.
  • Rajan P. D., M. Zacharias, and T. M. Mustak Ali. 2006. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Fauna of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka). Conservation Area Series, Zool. Surv. India.i-iv,27: 153-188.
  • Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014
  • Sharaf M. R., B. L. Fisher, H. M. Al Dhafer, A. Polaszek, and A. S. Aldawood. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology 10: e010004
  • Shiran E., M. S. Mossadegh, and M. Esfandiari. 2012. Mutualistic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with aphids in central and southwestern parts of Iran. J. Crop Prot. 2013, 2 (1): 1-12.
  • Tak N. 2009. Ants Formicidae of Rajasthan. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper No. 288, iv, 46 p
  • Tak N. 2010. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Zool. Surv. India, Fauna of Ranthambore National Park, Conservation Area Series 43: 133-144.
  • Tak N., N. S. Rathore, and S. Kumar. 2007. Insecta: Hymenoptera. Fauna of Pichhola lake (Rajasthan). Wetland Ecosystem series. Zool. Surv. India. 8 : 127-130.
  • Tak N., and N. S. Rathore. 1996. Ant (Formicidae) fauna of the Thar Desert. Pp. 271-276 in: Ghosh, A. K.; Baqri, Q. H.; Prakash, I. (eds.) 1996. Faunal diversity in the Thar Desert: gaps in research. Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers, xi + 410 pp.
  • Tak N., and N. S. Rathore. 2004. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. State Fauna Series 8: Fauna of Gujarat. Zool. Surv. India. Pp. 161-183.
  • Tak, N. 2009. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan and Gujarat. in C. Sivaperuman et al. (eds.), Faunal Ecology and Conservation of the Great Indian Desert
  • Thapa V. K. 2000. An Inventory of Nepal's Insects, Vol. III. IUCN Nepal, Kathmandu, xi + 475 pp.
  • Tiwari R. N. 1999. Taxonomic studies on ants of southern India (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 18(4): 1-96.
  • Tiwari R.N., B.G. Kundu, S. Roychowdhury, S.N. Ghosh. 1999. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 211-294 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 1999. Fauna of West Bengal. Part 8. Insecta (Trichoptera, Thysanoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera and Anoplura). Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, iv + 442 pp.
  • Tiwari R.N., B.G. Kundu, S. Sheela, and S. N. Ghosh. 2004. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Alfred, J.R.B. [Ed.], Fauna of Manipur, part - 2 (insects). State fauna series 10. Zool.Surv.India.i-v, 1-625. Chapter pagination: 605-625.
  • Tiwari, R.N. 1999. Taxonomic studies on ants of southern India (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 18(4):1-96
  • Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.
  • Wheeler W. M. and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.
  • Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.