Pheidole vafra

This appears to be a widespread weedy species (Longino, 2019). The very wide distribution suggests that vafra may be carried by human commerce. In any case, it inhabits marginal habitats. I found nests common in sandy soil at two localities along the southern coast of Tobago, where it coexists with the very widespread marginal-habitat specialist Pheidole jelskii. Near the Nariva Swamp of Trinidad, Stefan Cover found a colony at the border between a coconut grove and mangrove swamp, nesting under a fallen coconut leaf in sand; and a second colony at 550 m in Trinidad’s Arima Valley, nesting in the hard-packed clay of a road running through a small coffee plantation. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
This hitherto obscure species turns out to be one of the most widespread of all New World Pheidole. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica , French Guiana, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Worker
Minor

Nomenclature

 *  vafra. Pheidole vafra Santschi, 1923d: 51 (s.w.) BRAZIL.
 * Senior synonymy of idiota: Wilson, 2003: 244.
 * Senior synonym of laticornis: Longino, 2019: 63.
 * idiota. Pheidole idiota Santschi, 1923d: 53 (s.w.q.) ARGENTINA. Subspecies of vafra: Santschi, 1929d: 284. Material of the unavailable name maculifrons referred here by Brown, 1981: 526. Junior synonym of vafra: Wilson, 2003: 244.
 * laticornis. Pheidole laticornis Wilson, 2003: 203, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA.
 * Junior synonym of vafra: Longino, 2019: 63.

Taxonomic Notes
The images of the types of P. vafra match the types of Wilson's P. laticornis.

Description
From Wilson (2003): A small, brown member of the diligens group, whose major has a faintly bicolorous head; smooth anterior third of the head dorsal surface; abundant medium-length pilosity; relatively short antennal scapes, which are curved near their base; and equilaterally triangular postpetiolar spine in side view.

Close to Pheidole blumenauensis, Pheidole perryorum and Pheidole rochai, but major differing in its shorter scapes, eyes larger than in rochai (but not in blumenauensis) and other details of body form and sculpturing in both major and minor, as illustrated.

See also less similar Pheidole laevifrons, Pheidole lemur, Pheidole peregrina, Pheidole pubiventris and Pheidole seeldrayersi.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 0.96, HL 1.04, SL 0.74, EL 0.20, PW 0.54. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.52, HL 0.64, SL 0.74, EL 0.14, PW 0.36.

COLOR Major: gaster medium brown, rest of body light brown except for anterior one-fourth of head capsule, which is a slightly contrasting brownish yellow.

Minor: concolorous medium brown.

Pheidole vafra

A member of the diligens group close to Pheidole coffeicola and Pheidole vafra and differing from that species and other diligens group members by the following combination of traits.

Major: scape broadened at the base, wider there than near the apex; head dark yellow, with brown spot on vertex; propodeal spines reduced to denticles.

Minor: propodeal spines reduced to denticles; occiput narrowed, with nuchal collar. Other traits as illustrated.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.02, HL 1.08, SL 0.76, EL 0.18, PW 0.58. Paratype minor: HW 0.48, HL 0.60, SL 0.76, EL 0.14, PW 0.34.

COLOR Major: body and head dark yellow, with fuzzy, circular brown spot on vertex, except for gaster, which is yellowish brown.

Minor: mesosoma, petiole, and appendages dark yellow; head, postpetiole, and gaster yellowish to plain light brown.



'Pheidole idiota''. Upper: lectotype, major. BRAZIL: Blumenau, Santa Catarina. (Outer antennal scape is from near Nariva Swamp, Trinidad.) Lower: minor. TRINIDAD: near Nariva Swamp (compared with paralectotype minor). Scale bars = 1 mm.'''



'''Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
Pheidole idiota: BRAZIL: Blumenau, Santa Catarina. - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Pheidole vafra: COSTA RICA: Palmar, Puntarenas, col. E. O. Wilson.

Etymology
Pheidole idiota: L vafra, artful, craftful, allusion unknown. (Wilson 2003)

Pheidole vafra: L laticornis, broad-horned, referring to the basally widened scape.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Kusnezov N. 1952. El género Pheidole en la Argentina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoologica Lilloana 12: 5-88.
 * Kusnezov N. 1956. Claves para la identificación de las hormigas de la fauna argentina. Idia 104-105: 1-56.
 * Longino J. T. 2019. Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American wet forest. Zootaxa 4599: 1-126
 * Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
 * Santschi F. 1923. Pheidole et quelques autres fourmis néotropiques. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 63: 45-69.
 * Santschi F. 1929. Nouvelles fourmis de la République Argentine et du Brésil. Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina. 107: 273-316.
 * Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press
 * da Silva de Oliveira A. B., and F. A. Schmidt. 2019. Ant assemblages of Brazil nut trees Bertholletia excelsa in forest and pasture habitats in the Southwestern Brazilian Amazon. Biodiversity and Conservation 28(2): 329-344.