Rhytidoponera confusa

Rhytidoponera confusa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ectatomminae
Tribe:	Ectatommini
Genus:	Rhytidoponera
Species:	R. confusa
Binomial name
Rhytidoponera confusa Ward, 1980 Specimen Labels

Both flying queens and gamergates reproduce, in separate colonies.

At a Glance

• Gamergate

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -28.41667° to -37.71666667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (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

Winged queens still occur in this basal species. Founding queens raise offspring almost as large as themselves, hence ICF is always non-claustral, i.e. queens need to hunt insects aboveground (Ward 1981b). Queenright colonies produce a large number of gynes annually. Following queen death, a few workers can mate and reproduce. Gamergate colonies reproduce by fission (Ward 1981b)

Molet et al. (2008) - Queenright colonies are larger than gamergate colonies. Colonies with the original founding (dealate) queen have 337±43 (mean±SE, N=49) workers, 37±11 gynes (N=39), and 46±20 males (N=39), while gamergate colonies consisted of 101±14 workers (N=30), 0.04±0.04 gynes (N=23), and 2±1 males (N=23) but no dealate queen.

The effect of latitude and environment on colonial reproduction (i.e. quality (lean and fat weight) and quantity of gynes) was assessed by collecting 79 colonies along the Australian east coast (Molet et al. 2008).

Life History Traits

• Queen number: polygynous (Ward, 1983; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)
• Queen mating frequency: single (Ward, 1983; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Dealate queen (top) and worker of R. confusa, showing almost no difference in body size. The worker thorax is reduced due to the lack of wing muscles. Automontage by Derek Smith.

Images from AntWeb

Nidoparatype of Rhytidoponera confusa. Worker. Specimen code casent0900530. Photographer Ryan Perry, 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.

• confusa. Rhytidoponera confusa Ward, 1980: 482, figs. 1-3, 16, 17, 26, 28 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland).
  • Type-material: holotype worker, paratype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: holotype Australia: New South Wales, Royal Nat. Park, 34°09’S, 151°01’E, 50 m., 11.i.1977, acc. 2129, in rotten log, rainforest gully below waterfall (P.S. Ward); paratypes: “70 accessions (nest series) from the type-locality”, 1974-1978 (P.S. Ward).
  • Type-depositories: ANIC (holotype); ANIC, BMNH, MCZC, “Australian State Museums” (presumably some or all of AMSC, MVMA, QMBA, SAMA, WAMP) (paratypes).
  • Status as species: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 42; Taylor, 1987a: 68; Bolton, 1995b: 378.
  • Distribution: Australia.

Type Material

• Holotype, worker, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, Ward,P.S., ANIC32-011934, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Paratype, 2 workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, Australian Museum.
• Paratype, many workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Paratype, 3 workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
• Paratype, 4 workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, PSWC#2129, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
• Paratype, 2 workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, Queensland Museum.
• Paratype, 2 workers, Royal National Park, New South Wales, Australia, South Australian Museum.

References

• Boulay, R., Hefetz, A., Soroker, V., Lenoir, A. 2000. Camponotus fellah colony integration: worker individuality necessitates frequent hydrocarbon exchanges. Animal Behaviour 59, 1127–1133 (doi:10.1006/ANBE.2000.1408).
• Dahbi, A., Lenoir, A. 1998. Queen and colony odour in the multiple nest ant species, Cataglyphis iberica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 45, 301–313 (doi:10.1007/s000400050090).
• Fournier, D., de Biseau, J.-C., De Laet, S., Lenoir, A., Passera, L., Aron, S. 2016. Social structure and genetic distance mediate nestmate recognition and aggressiveness in the facultative polygynous ant Pheidole pallidula. PLOS ONE 11, e0156440. (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0156440).
• Lenoir, A., P. D’Ettorre, P., Errard, C., Hefetz, A. 2001. Chemical ecology and social parasitism in ants. Annual Review of Entomology 46: 573–599.
• Molet, M., M. van Baalen & C. Peeters 2008. Shift in colonial reproductive strategy associated with a tropical-temperate gradient in Rhytidoponera ants. The American Naturalist 172: 75-87.
• Pokorny, T., Sieber, L.-M., Hofferberth, J.E., Bernadou, A., Ruther, J. 2020. Age-dependent release of and response to alarm pheromone in a ponerine ant. The Journal of Experimental Biology 223, jeb218040. (doi:10.1242/JEB.218040).
• Schultner, E., Pulliainen, U. 2020. Brood recognition and discrimination in ants. Insectes Sociaux 67, 11–34 (doi:10.1007/s00040-019-00747-3).
• Ward, P. S. 1980a. A systematic revision of the Rhytidoponera impressa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia and New Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 28: 475-498 (page 482, figs. 1-3, 16, 17, 26, 28 worker described)
• Ward, P. S. 1981a. Ecology and life history of the Rhytidoponera impressa group. I. Habitats, nest sites, and foraging behavior. Psyche 88: 89–108.
• Ward, P. S. 1981b. Ecology and life history of the Rhytidoponera impressa group. II. Colony origin, seasonal cycles, and reproduction. Psyche 88:109–126.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Nooten S. S., P. Schultheiss, R. C. Rowe, S. L. Facey, and J. M. Cook. Habitat complexity affects functional traits and diversity of ant assemblages in urban green spaces (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 29: 67-77.
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Ward P. S. 1980. A systematic revision of the Rhytidoponera impressa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia and New Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 28: 475-498.