Strumigenys creightoni

Strumigenys creightoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Strumigenys
Species:	S. creightoni
Binomial name
	Strumigenys creightoni; Smith, M.R., 1931 Specimen Label

A litter dwelling speices that has been found in oak-scrub, upland woodland and an old field.

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the Strumigenys pulchella-group. This species is often confused with Strumigenys bunki (rostrata-group) but length of diastema and arrangement of principal dentition is quite different; see respective group-diagnoses and discussion under bunki.

Four species in this group (Strumigenys abdita, creightoni, Strumigenys talpa, Strumigenys metazytes) do not have hairs on the anterior or lateral clypeal margins that are recurved or reflexed. Of these creightoni lacks erect hairs on the vertex close to the occipital margin, lacks an apicoscrobal hair, lacks a fine projecting hair at the pronotal humerus, and lacks standing pilosity on the mesonotum. In the other three species filiform or flagellate hairs are present at all these locations.

P. talpa separates from both abdita and metazytes as its main pilosity is entirely of long fine flagellate hairs. These occur as a pair on the vertex close to the occipital margin, a pair on the pronotal dorsum (as well as at the humeri), another pair on the mesonotum, and in numbers on the waist segments and especially the first gastral tergite. In both abdita and metazytes the hairs in many or all of these positions are stouter, simple and stiffly filiform, and at most evenly shallowly curved.

Of the last two species abdita is generally larger and its mandibles are usually longer (HL 0.53-0.60, HW 0.40-0.43, MI 17-22) than in metazytes (HL 0.51-0.52, HW 0.36-0.38, MI 16-17). Also, in abdita the anterior clypeal margin is very wide and has abruptly rounded anterolateral angles. The clypeal dorsum has broadly spatulate to spoon-shaped ground-pilosity that is very dense and conspicuous, and is very similar in shape and size to the hairs that fringe the lateral margins. Standing pilosity on the first gastral tergite is usually restricted to an apical and a basal transverse row, though some samples are known which have intermediate hairs present. By comparison metazytes has a short but very shallowly convex anterior clypeal margin that curves evenly into the lateral margins through widely rounded anterolateral angles. Its clypeal dorsum has minute inconspicuous spatulate ground-pilosity that is very much smaller than the large hairs that fringe the lateral margins. Pilosity on its first gastral tergite is more or less evenly distributed over the sclerite.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 38.895° to 27.18333°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (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

Brown (1964) - Chilhowee Mountains, Tennessee, nest with winged males, August 1, 1949. North Carolina, leaf litter berlesates. Decatur Co., Georgia, one worker from a molasses trap.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb


Worker. Specimen code casent0104332. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb


Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104333. 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.

creightoni. Strumigenys (Cephaloxys) creightoni Smith, M.R. 1931c: 705, pl. 4, fig. 16 (w.) U.S.A. Brown, 1953g: 80 (q.); Brown, 1964a: 191 (m.). Combination in S. (Trichoscapa): Smith, M.R., 1947f: 587; Creighton, 1950a: 305; in Smithistruma: Smith, M.R., 1951a: 827; Brown, 1953g: 80; in Pyramica: Bolton, 1999: 1673; in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 118. See also: Bolton, 2000: 118.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 2.0-2.4, HL 0.54-0.61, HW 0.36-0.41, CI 66-69, ML 0.09-0.12, MI 17-21, SL 0.27-0.30, SI 69-76, PW 0.25-0.27, AL 0.54-0.58 (15 measured).

Anterior clypeal margin almost transverse to extremely shallowly convex. Clypeal dorsum with dense small spatulate hairs that are much smaller than those that fringe the lateral clypeal margins. Cephalic dorsum behind clypeus densely clothed with conspicuous spoon-shaped ground-pilosity but without standing or projecting hairs anywhere on dorsum or dorsolateral margin. Dorsal alitrunk with spoon-shaped ground-pilosity but lacking standing hairs of any form . Pronotal humerus with a somewhat enlarged spoon-shaped hair. First gastral tergite with fine flagellate hairs. Basitarsi of hind legs with 1-2 long flagellate hairs projecting from dorsal (outer) surface.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Lectotype worker (by designation of Brown, 1953a: 80) and paralectotype workers, U.S.A. : Alabama, Mobile, Spring Hill, l.vii.1929 (W. S. Creighton) (Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, National Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology) [examined].

References

Baroni Urbani, C. & De Andrade, M.L. 2007. The ant tribe Dacetini: limits and constituent genera, with descriptions of new species. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria” 99:1-191.
Bolton, B. 1999. Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History. 33:1639-1689. (page 1673, Combination in Pyramica)
Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028.
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary studies in the ant tribe Dacetini. American Midland Naturalist. 50:1-137. (page 80, queen described, Combination in Smithistruma)
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1964. The ant genus Smithistruma: a first supplement to the World revision (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 89:183-200. (page 191, male described)
Deyrup, M.; Johnson, C.; Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1989. A preliminary list of the ants of Florida. Fla. Entomol. 72: 91-101 (page 98, catalogue)
MacGown, J.A., Booher, D., Richter, H., Wetterer, J.K., Hill, J.G. 2021. An updated list of ants of Alabama (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with new state records. Transactions of the American Entomological Society 147: 961-981 (doi:10.3157/061.147.0409).
Smith, M. R. 1931c. A revision of the genus Strumigenys of America, north of Mexico, based on a study of the workers (Hymn.: Formicidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 24: 686-710 (page 705, pl. 4, fig. 16 worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Annotated Ant Species List Ordway-Swisher Biological Station. Downloaded at http://ordway-swisher.ufl.edu/species/os-hymenoptera.htm on 5th Oct 2010.
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