Lioponera suscitata

Colony size (13 - 40 workers, n=3) and ovariole number (4 per queen) is small. Reproduction is continuous, rather than phasic as occurs in some Dorylinae genera. A laboratory colony offered larvae and pupae of Pheidole and Brachyponera, termites, mealworms and crickets ignored all the prey except the ant larvae. Queen-worker body-size dimorphism is weak.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sulawesi. Oriental Region: Cambodia, Vietnam.

Biology
Ito et al. (2018) collected information about the colony composition of 3 colonies collected from Ulu Gombak, Peninsular Malaysia (2 colonies), and a third from Gunung Halimun, West Java (1 colony). All three colonies were found found nesting in a dead twig on the ground.

Two L. suscitata colonies contained a single dealate queen, workers (14 and 40), and all immature stages. The third colony had no queen, 30 workers, no eggs, a few larvae and several cocoons. The latter contained various pupal stages from prepupae to mature blackish workers, males and alate queens.

The following data were collected to assess caste dimorphism between queens and workers. Such data has rarely been reported in non-army ant genera of Dorylinae. Body size differences between the queen and worker castes of L. suscitata are not visually conspicuous. Queen head width was slightly but significantly greater then the workers (queen head width 1.20 + 0.02 mm, worker head width 1.13 + 0.025 mm, Welch Two-sample t-test, t = 16.5, df = 2.15, P = 0.0027). The abdomen width of the queens was significantly larger than that of workers (queen 1.30 + 0.02 mm, worker 1.10 + 0.025 mm, Welch Two-sample t-test, t = 12, df = 3.47, P = 0.0006). The number of ovarioles in queens was 4 per individual (2-2, n = 4) and there were 2 per worker (1-1, n = 10). Queens had a spermatheca while workers did not.

One L. suscitata colony collected in Halimun (FI98-411, containing one queen and 14 workers) was kept in a laboratory nest for 4 months. Brood composition of the colony was checked one to three times per week and showed continuous egg-laying by the queen. All three immature stages were always found in the nest concurrently over a four month period. The number of eggs laid per week, which was estimated from the change of brood composition, was two to six. Ant larvae were accepted as prey (Pheidole spp. and Brachyponera spp.), while ant pupae and other insect prey were ignored (termites, mealworms and crickets).

Lioponera suscitata has non-phasic reproduction: queens lay eggs continuously and all developmental stages of brood are present in a colony. Wilson (1958) and Idogawa and Dobata (2018) also reported such brood composition in Lioponera cohici, Lioponera dumbletoni, and Lioponera daikoku. Hölldobler (1982) did not provide details on the reproductive cycle of Lioponera. cf. turneri. He did however report that several eggs were found with large larvae in captive colonies, indicating this species also shows non-phasic reproduction. This continuous reproduction contrasts with the phasic reproduction (Buschinger et al. 1989; Masuko 2006, Ravary & Jaisson 2002; Wilson 1958) found in other genera of non-army ant dorylines such as Ooceraea, Parasyscia, Syscia and Zasphinctus. Egglaying by a queen in these genera occurs during a limited period and ceases when a cohort of synchronized, developing larvae are present.

Castes
Queens are winged, and queen-worker dimorphism in body size is weak (Ito et al. 2018).

Nomenclature

 * . Phyracaces suscitatus Viehmeyer, 1913: 143 (w.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi) (in copal).
 * Type-material: holotype worker.
 * Type-locality: Indonesia: Celebes (= Sulawesi), in copal (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depository: MNHU.
 * Combination in Cerapachys: Brown, 1975: 23;
 * combination in Lioponera: Borowiec, M.L. 2016: 164.
 * Status as species: Chapman & Capco, 1951: 22; Brown, 1975: 23, 67; Bolton, 1995b: 145; Pfeiffer, et al. 2011: 33.
 * Senior synonym of hewitti Donisthorpe: Brown, 1975: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 145.
 * Distribution: Indonesia (Sulawesi), Malaysia (Peninsula, Sarawak), Philippines (Negros).
 * hewitti. Phyracaces hewitti Donisthorpe, 1931b: 494 (w.m.) BORNEO (East Malaysia: Sarawak).
 * Type-material: 2 syntype workers, 2 syntype males.
 * Type-locality: Malaysia: Sarawak, Kuching, 1906-7 (J. Hewitt).
 * Type-depository: BMNH.
 * [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Phyracaces hewitti Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 48 (Bolton, 1995b: 143).]
 * Junior synonym of hewitti Wheeler: Baroni Urbani, 1971b: 361.
 * Junior synonym of suscitata: Brown, 1975: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 143.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1975. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. V. Ponerinae, tribes Platythyreini, Cerapachyini, Cylindromyrmecini, Acanthostichini, and Aenictogitini. Search Agric. (Ithaca N. Y.) 5(1): 1-115.
 * Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
 * Hashimoto Y., Y. Morimoto, and M. Mohamed. 2003. Species List of Ground and Leaf Litter Ants Collected in Lower Kinabatangan. Pp 13-18. In Lower Kinabatangan Scientific Expedition 2002, 176 pp. ISBN-13: 983-2369-11-8
 * Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
 * Viehmeyer H. 1913. Ameisen aus dem Kopal von Celebes. Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 74: 141-155.
 * Zryanin V. A. 2011. An eco-faunistic review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Structure and functions of soil communities of a monsoon tropical forest (Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam) / A.V. Tiunov (Editor). – M.: KMK Scientific Press. 2011. 277 р.101-124.