Agraulomyrmex

The only published account of the biology of Agraulomyrmex is provided in Prins' (1983) description of the genus and its two of its known three species. "In 1969 surveys of ants present in citrus orchards were conducted throughout South Africa. During the cooler winter months and early spring one sample of small, brownish hypogaeic ants was collected among some citrus trees in the veld near Velddrif, a small fishing village about 200 km north-west of Cape Town. As these ants looked very much like Technomyrmex albipes, which shared the same habitat, they were noted as such in the collection records. This same species of ant was also at the time observed in a small citrus orchard near Citrusdal, about 60 km north-east of Velddrif. In this case they were tending the aphid Hyadaphis coriandri (Das) on warm days, about 4 to 7 cm above ground level on the low-growing weeds. They were, however, never observed during the summer and autumn months. Three years later a sample received from the Ministry of Agriculture of Zimbabwe proved to be a different species of this new genus."

Identification
Harshana & Dey (2021) - Agraulomyrmex are small ants, differing from other formicine genera by structure of mesosoma (i.e. absence of mesometanotal suture and metanotal groove), presence of 9–10 antennal segment without distinct club, and absence of ocelli (Prins 1983; Ortiz-Sepulveda et al. 2019). A closely related genus Brachymyrmex has nine segmented antennae without a distinct club but mesometanotal suture is present in this genus while it is absent in Agraulomyrmex (Ortiz-Sepulveda et al. 2019). Workers of two other formicine monotypic genera Aphomomyrmex and Petalomyrmex have nine segmented antennae without a distinct club, but Agraulomyrmex can be differentiated from Aphomomyrmex by the absence of ocelli and metanotal groove while Petalomyrmex have cordate shaped head, ocelli, and convex metanotum in profile view (Snelling 1979), which are all absent in Agraulomyrmex. Another formicine genus Tapinolepis is characterised by metanotum not forming a distinct isolated sclerite (meso-metanotum suture absent) (Bolton 2003) but it differs from Agraulomyrmex by having 11 segmented antennae and presence of ocelli.

Prins (1993) - Small ants with ten-segmented antennae, flagella incrassate towards apices without distinct club; first and last segments of flagella longer than wide, the remaining segments as long as or wider than long. Mandibles triangular with four to six teeth; frontal carinae short, antennal fossae situated close to posterior border of clypeus. Eyes large, placed in front of middle of sides of head; ocelli absent. Maxillary palpi five- to six-segmented, labial palp three- to foursegmented. Labrum bilobed, widely and shallowly emarginate in middle. Frontal area clearly indicated.

Mesosoma with promesonotal and mesonotal-propodeal sutures well developed, mesometanotal suture absent; propodeum rounded from front to back, unarmed. Petiole with very small or rudimentary scale overhung by base of abdomen. Legs moderately long.

Castes
Males have yet to be collected for this genus.

Worker Morphology
These characters are collated in the table "WorkerMorphology". View table.

Nomenclature

 *  AGRAULOMYRMEX [Formicinae: Plagiolepidini]
 * Agraulomyrmex Prins, 1983: 2. Type-species: Agraulomyrmex meridionalis, by original designation.

Etymology
The name Agraulomyrmex (masculine gender) is derived from the Greek word agraulos, which refers to the mode of living (in the fields).