Solenopsis gayi

Solenopsis gayi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Solenopsidini
Genus:	Solenopsis
Species group:	geminata
Species:	S. gayi
Binomial name
Solenopsis gayi (Spinola, 1851) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Solenopsis gayi fazi Santschi, 1923

In Chile Solenopsis gayi can be found living in mixed nests with the ant Camponotus morosus. Believed to be a parabiotic association, the relationship between these two ants was studied and it was found S. gayi workers were tolerant of all C. morosus workers. C. morosus workers were aggressive to most other ants except their own nestmates and the S. gayi workers they lived with. (Errard et al. 2003)

Identification

A member of the Solenopsis geminata species-group.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -10.15111111° to -38.72703°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Chile (type locality), Colombia, Peru.

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

This species is polygynous (Errard et al. 2003).

Association with Other Organisms

 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 host for the phorid fly Pseudacteon obtusus (a parasite) in Chile (Sanchez-Restrepo et al., 2020).

Nomenclature

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

• gayi. Myrmica gayi Spinola, 1851a: 242 (w.q.m.) CHILE.
  • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens, syntype males (numbers not stated).
  • Type-localities: Chile: Santa Rosa (C. Gay), Chile: Coquimbo (C. Gay).
  • [Note: Trager, 1991: 170, incorrectly gives Santiago as the type-locality.]
  • Type-depository: MRSN.
  • Combination in Solenopsis: Mayr, 1886c: 365.
  • Junior synonym of geminata: Mayr, 1886d: 460; Dalla Torre, 1893: 76; Emery, 1893h: 2; Pergande, 1893: 35; Forel, 1895b: 130; Zhou, 2001b: 88 (error).
  • Subspecies of geminata: Emery, 1895i: 11; Emery, 1906c: 121.
  • Status as species: Smith, F. 1858b: 132; Mayr, 1862: 742; Roger, 1863b: 29; Mayr, 1863: 432; Forel, 1909a: 269; Wheeler, W.M. 1915b: 397; Emery, 1922e: 197; Santschi, 1923c: 261; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 35; Creighton, 1930b: 48 (redescription); Goetsch, 1933: 29; Goetsch & Menozzi, 1935: 96; Menozzi, 1935c: 320; Brown, 1950e: 248; Ettershank, 1966: 141; Kempf, 1970a: 24; Kempf, 1972a: 235; Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 84; Trager, 1991: 170 (redescription); Bolton, 1995b: 387; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 121; Fernández & Serna, 2019: 816.
  • Senior synonym of fazi: Brown, 1950e: 248; Kempf, 1970a: 24; Kempf, 1972a: 235; Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 84; Trager, 1991: 170; Bolton, 1995b: 387.
  • Distribution: Chile, Colombia, Peru.
• fazi. Solenopsis gayi var. fazi Santschi, 1923c: 261 (w.) CHILE.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Chile: Santiago (Faz).
  • Type-depository: NHMB.
  • Creighton, 1930b: 51 (q.).
  • Subpecies of gayi: Creighton, 1930b: 51; Goetsch & Menozzi, 1935: 96.
  • Junior synonym of gayi: Brown, 1950e: 248; Kempf, 1970a: 24; Kempf, 1972a: 235; Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 84; Trager, 1991: 170; Bolton, 1995b: 387.

References

• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1950g. Morphological, taxonomic, and other notes on ants. Wasmann J. Biol. 8: 241-250 (page 248, Senior synonym of fazi)
• Creighton, W. S. 1930b. The New World species of the genus Solenopsis (Hymenop. Formicidae). Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 66: 39-151 (page 48, Revived status as species)
• Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 76, Junior synonym of geminata)
• Emery, C. 1895k. Deuxième note sur les fourmis du Chili. Actes Soc. Sci. Chili 5: 10-18 (page 11, Revived from synonymy as subspecies of geminata)
• Emery, C. 1906c [1905]. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XXVI. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 37: 107-194 (page 121, Revived from synonymy as subspecies of geminata)
• Errard, C., J. Ipinza Regla, and A. Hefetz. 2003. Interspecific recognition in Chilean parabiotic ant species. Insectes Sociaux. 50:268-273.
• Forel, A. 1909a. Ameisen aus Guatemala usw., Paraguay und Argentinien (Hym.). Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 1909: 239-269 (page 269, Revived status as species)
• Mayr, G. 1886c. Notizen über die Formiciden-Sammlung des British Museum in London. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 36: 353-368 (page 365, Combination in Solenopsis)
• Pitts, J.P., Camacho, G.P., Gotzek, D., McHugh, J.V., Ross, K.G. 2018. Revision of the fire ants of the Solenopisis saevissima species group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 120: 308–411.
• Sánchez-Restrepo, A.F., Chifflet, L., Confalonieri, V.A., Tsutsui, N.D., Pesquero, M.A., Calcaterra, L.A. 2020. A Species delimitation approach to uncover cryptic species in the South American fire ant decapitating flies (Diptera: Phoridae: Pseudacteon). PLOS ONE 15, e0236086 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0236086).
• Santschi, F. 1923c. Solenopsis et autres fourmis néotropicales. Rev. Suisse Zool. 30: 245-273 (page 261, Revived status as species)
• Spinola, M. 1851a. Insectos. Orden 7. Himenopteros. Pp. 153-569 in: Gay, C. Historia fisica y politica de Chile. Zoologia. Tomo 6. Paris: Maulde & Renon, 572 pp. (page 242, worker described)
• Trager, J. C. 1991. A revision of the fire ants, Solenopsis geminata group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 99: 141-198 (page 170, see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Cepeda-Pizarro J., J. Pizarro-Araya, and C. Bravo-Naranjo. 2018. The assemblage of epigean ants (Formicidae) inhabiting altered patches found in a latitudinal transect of coastal matorral of semiarid Chile. IDESIA (Chile) 36(2): 193-201.
• Creighton W. S. 1930. The New World species of the genus Solenopsis (Hymenop. Formicidae). Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 66: 39-151.
• Emery C. 1906. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XXVI. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 37: 107-194.
• Ettershank G. 1966. A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Aust. J. Zool. 14: 73-171.
• Fernández F., E. E. Palacio, W. P. Mackay, and E. S. MacKay. 1996. Introducción al estudio de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Colombia. Pp. 349-412 in: Andrade M. G., G. Amat García, and F. Fernández. (eds.) 1996. Insectos de Colombia. Estudios escogidos. Bogotá: Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 541 pp
• Goetsch W. and C. Menozzi. 1935. Die Ameisen Chiles. Konowia 14: 94-102
• Goetsch, W., and C. Menozzi. "Die Ameisen Chiles." Konowia 14 (1935): 94-102.
• Heatwole H. 1996. Ant assemblages at their dry limits: the northern Atacama Desert, Peru, and the Chott El Djerid, Tunisia. Journal of Arid Environments 33: 449–456.
• Ipinza-Regla J. I., J. García, and J. E. Araya. 2015. Distribution of Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Nests in the Santiago Forest, Metropolitan Region, Chile. Entomol Ornithol Herpetol 4: 137. doi:10.4172/2161-0983.1000137
• Ipinza-Regla J., L. Castro, R. Eissemann, and M. A. Morales. 2010. Factors Influencing the Distribution of Nests of the Argentine Ant Linepithema humile Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), in a Foothills Ecosystem of the Central Zone of Chile. Neotropical Entomology 39(5):686-690.
• Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
• Kempf W. W. 1970. Catálogo das formigas do Chile. Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo) 23: 17-43.
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Medel R. G., and R. A. Vasquez. 1994. Comparative analysis of harvester ant assemblages of Argentinian and Chilean arid zones. Journal of Arid Anvironments 26: 363-371
• Menozzi C. 1935. Fauna Chilensis. II. (Nach Sammlungen von W. Goetsch). Le formiche del Cile. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Ökologie und Geographie der Tiere. 67: 319-336.
• Snelling R. R., and J. H. Hunt. 1975. The ants of Chile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Revista Chilena de Entomología 9: 63-129.
• Trager J. C. 1991. A revision of the fire ants, Solenopsis geminata group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 99: 141-198