Solenopsis carolinensis

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Solenopsis carolinensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Solenopsis
Species complex: molesta
Species: S. carolinensis
Binomial name
Solenopsis carolinensis
Forel, 1901

Solenopsis truncorum casent0104666 profile 1.jpg

Solenopsis truncorum casent0104666 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

Solenopsis carolinensis has been collected in underground nests, among other ant nests, in termite nests, as well as in the trunks of rotten trees in North Carolina (Forel, 1901a). Both workers and alate males and queens were collected by berlese extraction of hardwood leaf litter in Arkansas. Solenopsis carolinensis was collected under the bark of a dead tree and in a stump in Tennessee. Solenopsis carolinensis has also been collected by black light (July), in log litter and under rocks in various localities in Texas. Brood and sexuals were in nests in June. This species was collected in a Pinus taeda, mixed hardwood forest. Solenopsis carolinensis was also collected at 8500 ft. (about 2591 m) in Woodland Park Colorado. It is also found in grasslands and shrublands. (Pacheco and Mackay 2013)


At a Glance • Polygynous  

Identification

A New World thief ant that is a member of the molesta species complex. (Key to New World Solenopsis Species Complexes)

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) – Worker - The workers are nearly always small and yellow, but can be brown. The lateral clypeal teeth are angulate with the extralateral teeth absent. The mesosoma is smooth and shiny. This species is abundantly hairy and hairs on the posterior tibia are usually suberect. Queen - The queen is yellow, with large eyes. The head is coarsely punctate. The ocelli are darkly pigmented. The petiolar peduncle has a well-developed flange. Male - The male is slightly bicolored with a brown head and gaster and yellowish mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole. The head is mostly smooth and shiny and the clypeus is lacking any tooth or bump. The petiolar peduncle has a small flange ventrally.

Solenopsis carolinensis is difficult to separate from Solenopsis zeteki. It is usually slightly larger to the latter, but they can be approximately equal in size. The lateral clypeal teeth of S. carolinensis are well developed and the extralateral processes are developed at least into an angle. The lateral teeth are usually absent in S. zeteki, but may be developed into small angles. The extralateral angles of S. zeteki are absent or developed into a wide, slightly expanded area. Moreover, these two species can be separated by geography as S. carolinensis is found in the USA and S. zeteki is from Central and South America.

Solenopsis carolinensis could be confused with Solenopsis texana and with Solenopsis abdita. The workers of these two species have appressed hairs present on the posterior tibiae, whereas S. carolinensis has suberect pilosity. When queens are available, S. carolinensis, is easily distinguished by the large diameter of the eye. Queens and workers can be separated from those of S. abdita by the longer scapes (scape length of two type workers 0.240 and 0.279 mm, respectively) and the relatively narrower petiole (petiolar width of two type workers 0.083 and 0.094 mm, respectively).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

United States: Arkansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 40.58526° to 18.2805°.

     
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

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.
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Biology

Flight Period

X X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Flight Month data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Association with Other Organisms

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Virus

  • This species is a host for the virus Aparavirus: Solenopsis invicta virus-1 (a parasite) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest).

Fungi

  • This species is a host for the fungus Myrmicinosporidium durum (a pathogen) in United States (Pereira, 2004; Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).
  • This species is a host for the microsporidian fungus Kneallhazia carolinensae (a pathogen) (Valles et al., 2011).

Hymenoptera

  • This species is a host for the diapriid wasp Auxopaedeutes sp. (a parasite) (www.diapriid.org) (potential host).

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: polygynous (Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Solenopsis truncorum casent0104666 head 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0104666 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0104666 dorsal 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0104666 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0104666. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by AMNH, New York, NY, USA.
Solenopsis carolinensis casent0104497 head 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104497 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104497 dorsal 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104497 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0104497. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.
Solenopsis truncorum casent0010696 head 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0010696 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0010696 dorsal 1.jpgSolenopsis truncorum casent0010696 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0010696. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Solenopsis carolinensis casent0104495 head 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104495 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104495 profile 2.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104495 dorsal 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104495 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104495. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Solenopsis carolinensis casent0104496 head 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104496 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104496 profile 2.jpgSolenopsis carolinensis casent0104496 dorsal 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0104496. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • carolinensis. Solenopsis texana r. carolinensis Forel, 1901e: 345 (w.q.m.) U.S.A. (North Carolina).
    • Type-material: lectotype worker (by designation of Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 130), 5 paralectotype workers.
    • Type-locality: lectotype U.S.A.: North Carolina, Faisons, 1899 (A. Forel); paralectotypes with same data.
    • [Note: other original syntype workers, and queens and males, in MCZC, MHNG, not mentioned by Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 130.]
    • Type-depository: USNM.
    • Combination in S. (Diplorhoptrum): Creighton, 1950a: 236.
    • Subspecies of texana: Wheeler, W.M. 1904e: 301; Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 563; Emery, 1922e: 201; Wesson, L.G. & Wesson, R.G. 1940: 92; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 814; Ettershank, 1966: 140.
    • Status as species: Creighton, 1950a: 236; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 129; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1385; Thompson, 1989: 271 (in key); Thompson & Johnson, 1989: 698 (in key); Deyrup, et al. 1989: 96; Bolton, 1995b: 386; Deyrup, 2003: 47; Coovert, 2005: 67; MacGown & Forster, 2005: 69; Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 127 (redescription); Deyrup, 2017: 102.
    • Senior synonym of castanea: Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 127.
    • Senior synonym of truncorum: Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 127.
    • Distribution: U.S.A.
  • castanea. Solenopsis molesta var. castanea Wheeler, W.M. 1908e: 430 (w.) U.S.A. (Colorado).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: U.S.A.: Colorado, Woodland Park (8500 ft) (W.M. Wheeler).
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Subspecies of molesta: Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 563; Wheeler, W.M. 1917a: 501; Emery, 1922e: 200; Essig, 1926: 859; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 814.
    • Junior synonym of truncorum: Creighton, 1950a: 239; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 130; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1389; Bolton, 1995b: 386.
    • Junior synonym of carolinensis: Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 127.
  • truncorum. Solenopsis texana r. truncorum Forel, 1901e: 346 (w.q.) U.S.A. (North Carolina).
    • Type-material: lectotype queen (by designation of Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 130), 1 paralectotype queen, 6 paralectotype workers.
    • Type-locality: lectotype U.S.A.: North Carolina, Faisons, 28.vii.1899 (A. Forel); paralectotypes with same data.
    • [Note: other original syntypes in MCZC.]
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Subspecies of texana: Wheeler, W.M. 1904e: 301; Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 563; Emery, 1922e: 201; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 814; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 130; Ettershank, 1966: 144; Smith, M.R. 1967: 358.
    • Status as species: Creighton, 1950a: 239; Hunt & Snelling, 1975: 22; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1389; Mackay, Lowrie, et al. 1988: 101 (in key); Thompson & Johnson, 1989: 697 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 391; Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 233; Deyrup, 2003: 47; Ward, 2005: 67.
    • Junior synonym of carolinensis: Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 127.

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

Description

Worker

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - Measurements (n=6). TL 1.32-1.48 (1.42); HL 0.402-0.420 (0.412); HW 0.324-0.360 (0.337); EL 0.036-0.042 (0.041); ED 0.030-0.036 (0.031); SL 0.270-0.300 (0.279); FSL 0.102-0.120 (0.108); CI 78.6-85.7 (81.8); SI 64.3-71.4 (67.7); PL 0.060-0.072 (0.065); PW 0.090-0.102 (0.094); PI 58.8-75.0 (69.4); PPL 0.066-0.084 (0.076); PPW 0.120-0.126 (0.122); PPI 55.0-70.0 (62.3); WL 0.300-0.330 (0.305); PSL 0.024-0.030 (0.029); PSW 0.024.

Small, concolorous yellow; head subquadrate, longer than wide, posterior border straight; lateral clypeal teeth angulate, extralateral teeth absent; clypeal carinae well defined; scape reaches 3/4 length of head; minor funicular segments 3-8 short; eyes small, 3-5 ommatidia; mesosoma smooth and shiny; metapleuron with faint horizontal striae; posterior propodeal margin rounded; petiole wider than postpetiole viewed laterally; petiolar node rounded, subtriangular, with tooth ventrally; postpetiolar node rounded, globose, sculpture of petiole and postpetiole smooth and shiny.

Abundantly hairy; erect and suberect hairs of various lengths on all body surfaces; hairs on posterior tibia usually at least suberect.

Queen

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - Measurements (n=2). TL 4.08-4.20 (4.14); HL 0.648; HW 0.600; EL 0.240; ED 0.180-0.192 (0.186); MOL 0.078-0.090 (0.084); MOD 0.084-0.096 (0.090); SL 0.450-0.462 (0.456); FSL 0.222-0.240 (0.231); CI 92.6; SI 69.4-71.3 (70.4); PSL 0.066; PSW 0.048-0.060 (0.054); PL 0.132; PW 0.246-0.270 (0.258); PI 48.9-53.7 (51.3); PPL 0.198; PPW 0.282-0.288 (0.285); PPI 68.8-70.2 (69.5); WL 0.900.

Moderately large; concolorous yellow; head sub quadrate, longer than wide, coarsely punctate, posterior margin straight; lateral clypeal teeth angulate, extralateral teeth absent; clypeal carinae poorly defined; frontal lobes vertically striated; eye black, large; ocelli darkly pigmented, medial ocellus large; pronotum coarsely punctate, smooth and shiny between punctures, mesopleuron without sculpturing, lower metapleuron with horizontal striae; petiole wider than postpetiole viewed laterally; petiolar peduncle with well-developed flange ventrally. Abundantly hairy; erect and suberect hairs of various lengths covering all body surfaces; most hairs on petiole and postpetiole curve posteriorly.

Male

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - Measurements (n=4). TL 2.88-3.00 (2.91); HL 0.432-0.450 (0.441); HW 0.402-0.480 (0.446); EL 0.282-0.300 (0.291); ED 0.240; MOL 0.084-0.090 (0.087); MOD 0.132-0.150 (0.141); SL 0.144-0.168 (0.155); FSL 0.900-0.960 (0.945); CI 93.1-107 (101); SI 33.3-37.3 (35.0); PSL 0.072; PSW 0.060-0.066 (0.064); PL 0.138-0.144 (0.139); PW 0.198-0.216 (0.209); PI 63.9-69.7 (66.9); PPL 0.144-0.162 (0.153); PPW 0.228; PPI 63.2-71.1 (67.1); WL 0.720-0.840 (0.780).

Bicolored, brown head and gaster, yellow mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole, antennae yellow; head wider than long, smooth, shiny; clypeus convex, lacking tooth or bump; frontal lobes widely separated, 0.096 mm in greatest width; mesosoma smooth, shiny; petiole wider than postpetiole viewed laterally; petiolar peduncle with small flange ventrally; postpetiole wider than petiole viewed dorsally, lacking tooth or flange ventrally.

Abundantly hairy, with erect and suberect hairs of various lengths covering all body surfaces; most hairs on petiole and postpetiole curve posteriorly.

Type Material

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - North Carolina, Faisons, (lectotype worker and 5 paralectotype workers [here designated], cotype #201786 National Museum of Natural History). Solenopsis texanus truncorum, (lectotype queen Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève, 1 paralectotype queen, 6 paralectotype workers [here designated] MHNG). Solenopsis texana truncorum, North Carolina, Faisons du tronc 28.VII.

Worker Morphology

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • Caste: monomorphic

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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