Plagiolepis pallescens

This minute species lives in small isolated colonies nesting under flat stones usually with several queens (Collingwood 1979). In Russia it occurs in steppe habitats on rocky slopes with nests in soil (Zryanin & Zryanina, 2007).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Channel Islands, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, France, Germany, Greece , Hungary, Iran, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Montenegro, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey , Ukraine , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Biology
This species is the host for the workerless inquilines and  (Casevitz-Weulersse, J. 2014).

Castes
Ergatoid queens reported by Espadaler (2007)

Nomenclature

 *  pallescens. Plagiolepis pygmaea var. pallescens Forel, 1889: 265 (w.) GREECE.
 * [Misspelled as pallecens by Santschi, 1920g: 168.]
 * Santschi, 1911i: 287 (q.); Finzi, 1928c: 790 (m.).
 * Subspecies of pygmaea: Forel, 1890a: lxvii; Forel, 1889: 265; Emery, 1891b: 16; Dalla Torre, 1893: 173; Forel, 1902a: 155; Ruzsky, 1902d: 18; Ruzsky, 1903b: 308; Ruzsky, 1905b: 467; Forel, 1911d: 350; Forel, 1911h: 457; Santschi, 1911i: 287; Santschi, 1920g: 168; Ruzsky, 1923: 3.
 * Status as species: Emery, 1921d: 315; Emery, 1925b: 21; Karavaiev, 1926e: 188; Wheeler, W.M. 1927g: 114; Karavaiev, 1927a: 294; Finzi, 1928c: 790; Karavaiev, 1931a: 311; Menozzi, 1936d: 297; Finzi, 1936: 184; Arnol'di, 1948: 212 (in list); Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 168; Tarbinsky, 1976: 127 (redescription); Aktaç, 1977: 124; Dlussky, 1981a: 17; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 57; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 280 (in key); Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 162; Collingwood, 1993b: 195; Arakelian, 1994: 78; Bolton, 1995b: 335; Mei, 1995: 767; Radchenko, 1996a: 184; Schultz, R. et al. 2006: 205; Gratiashvili & Barjadze, 2008: 134; Csösz, et al. 2011: 58; Legakis, 2011: 25; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 528; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2013: 364; Borowiec, L. 2014: 146 (see note in bibliography); Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812 (redescription); Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 48.
 * Senior synonym of ancyrensis: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.
 * Senior synonym of pyrenaica: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812 (by implication).
 * Senior synonym of satunini: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812 (by implication).
 * Senior synonym of taurica: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.
 * Senior synonym of vindobonensis: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus atlantis, elguerrhae, isis, kabyla, polygyna, sordida.
 * ancyrensis. Plagiolepis maura var. ancyrensis Santschi, 1920g: 171, fig. 1 (w.q.) TURKEY.
 * [Misspelled as angyrensis by Santschi, 1921a: 114.]
 * Finzi, 1936: 184 (m.).
 * Subspecies of maura: Santschi, 1921a: 114; Emery, 1921b: 208.
 * Subspecies of pallescens: Emery, 1925b: 21; Menozzi, 1933b: 78; Finzi, 1936: 184.
 * Status as species: Tohmé, G. 1969: 10; Kugler, J. 1988: 258; Bolton, 1995b: 334; Legakis, 2011: 25; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 528; Borowiec, L. 2014: 145; Pashaei Rad et al., 2018: 7.
 * Junior synonym of pallescens: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.
 * pyrenaica. Plagiolepis barbara var. pyrenaica Emery, 1921d: 315, fig. I (6, 7) (w.) FRANCE.
 * Subspecies of barbara: Emery, 1925b: 20; Bernard, 1950a: 21.
 * Subspecies of schmitzii: Bolton, 1995b: 336.
 * Junior synonym of taurica: Casevitz-Weulersse & Galkowski, 2009: 485; Radchenko, 2016: 343.
 * Junior synonym of pallescens: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812 (by implication).
 * satunini. Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) satunini Karavaiev, 1931a: 314, fig. 4 (w.) ARMENIA.
 * Status as species: Arakelian, 1994: 80; Bolton, 1995b: 336.
 * Junior synonym of taurica: Radchenko, 1996a: 185; Radchenko, 2016: 343.
 * Junior synonym of pallescens: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812 (by implication).
 * taurica. Plagiolepis maura var. taurica Santschi, 1920g: 171 (w.) RUSSIA (Crimea), TURKMENISTAN.
 * Subspecies of pallescens: Emery, 1921d: 314; Santschi, 1922a: 67; Emery, 1925b: 21; Karavaiev, 1927a: 294.
 * Subspecies of pygmaea: Karavaiev, 1931a: 309.
 * Status as species: Radchenko, 1989b: 155; Bolton, 1995b: 336; Radchenko, 1996a: 185; Markó, Sipos, et al. 2006: 69; Schultz, R. et al. 2006: 205; Zryanin & Zryanina, 2007: 232; Casevitz-Weulersse & Galkowski, 2009: 485; Lapeva-Gjonova, et al. 2010: 34; Csösz, et al. 2011: 58; Legakis, 2011: 25; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 529; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2013: 364; Borowiec, L. 2014: 147; Bračko, et al. 2014: 20; Casevitz-Weulersse, 2014: 28; Radchenko, 2016: 343; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 7.
 * Junior synonym of pallescens: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.
 * vindobonensis. Plagiolepis vindobonensis Lomnicki, 1925c: 77, figs. 1-4 (w.) AUSTRIA.
 * Santschi, 1926f: 293 (q.); Kratochvíl, in Kratochvíl, et al. 1944: 84 (m.).
 * Subspecies of pygmaea: Bernard, 1967: 275 (in key).
 * Status as species: Santschi, 1926f: 288; Stärcke, 1936: 278; Novák & Sadil, 1941: 99 (in key); Kratochvíl, in Kratochvíl, et al. 1944: 82; van Boven, 1946: 9; van Boven, 1947: 181 (in key); Kutter, 1968a: 60; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 172; Bolton & Collingwood, 1975: 5 (in key); van Boven, 1977: 129; Kutter, 1977c: 189; Collingwood, 1979: 110; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 57; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 280 (in key); Casevitz-Weulersse, 1990c: 427; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 203; Collingwood, 1993b: 195; Seifert, 1994: 29; Bolton, 1995b: 336; Csösz, & Markó, 2005: 227; Bračko, 2006: 151; Bračko, 2007: 20; Seifert, 2007: 259; Werner & Wiezik, 2007: 142; Boer, 2010: 46; Legakis, 2011: 25.
 * Junior synonym of pygmaea: Bernard, 1967: 277 (in taxonomic synopsis and footnote).
 * Junior synonym of taurica: Radchenko, 1989b: 155; Radchenko, 1996a: 185; Markó, Sipos, et al. 2006: 69; Casevitz-Weulersse & Galkowsky, 2009: 485; Lapeva-Gjonova et al. 2010: 34; Csösz, et al. 2011: 58; Borowiec, L. 2014: 147; Casevitz-Weulersse, 2014: 28; Radchenko, 2016: 343.
 * Junior synonym of pallescens: Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 812.

Taxonomic Notes
Pashaei Rad et al. (2018) treat the junior synonyms Plagiolepis ancyrensis and Plagiolepis taurica as a valid species although they provide no evidence to support their treatment of either name as representing distinct species. Note that Bolton (in his unpublished An online catalogue of the ants of the world, 15 Feb. 2020) does not recognise the species status proposed by Pashaei Rad et al. (2018), noting that "the entries in this publication are omitted from the catalogue as it contains numerous nomenclatural errors; it also ignores previous taxonomic decisions, and entirely fails to apply ICZN rules that govern the availability of names in the species-group."

Worker
Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype. TL 1.49, HL 0.45, HW 0.39, SL 0.39, EL 0.12, CI 87, SI 100, PRW 0.25, ML 0.46.

Yellowish brown, gaster yellowish paler than rest of body, legs and antennae yellow, propodeum dorsum characteristically reddish brown. Body smooth and shining. Head distinctly longer than broad with clearly convex sides. Eyes, in full-face view, fail to break head sides. Antennae with appressed pubescence. Second funicular segment as long as or little broader than long. Third funicular segment little longer than broad. Second and third funicular segments nearly subequal. Fourth funicular segment distinctly longer than broad, and little longer than broad. Scape surpassing posterior margin of head by 2-3 X its thickeness. Eyes large (EL 0.12), 0.3 x HW, with eleven ommatadia in the longest row. Anterior clypeal margin with several pairs of long hairs. Occiput nearly straight or feebly concave with strongly rounded posterior corners. Promesonotal suture indistinct. Metanotal groove feebly impressed. Erect hairs limited to anterior margin of clypeus and a small number on the gaster. Dorsum of head with abundant but widely spaced pubescence; other pubescence sparse.

Queen
Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype (gaster is broken) HL 0.63, HW 0.56, SL 0.53, EL 0.19, CI 89, SI 95, PRW 0.25, ML 0.92.

Body brown, legs and antennae yellowish brown. Eyes very large (EL 0.19) occupying about half head sides. Anterior clypeal margin with two pairs of long hairs. Palp formula 6,4. Second funicular segment about twice broader than long. Third funicular segment twice longer than broad, and twice longer than second. Fourth funicular segment clearly longer than broad and nearly as long as, or little shorter than, second and third segments combined. Occiput nearly straight or feebly concave with rounded posterior corners. Mesosoma robust, distinctly dorsoventrally compressed. Propodeal spiracle circular. Preonotal humeri with one pair of long hairs. Body with abundant appressed pubescence.

Male
Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype. TL 1.42-1.49, HL 0.38, HW 0.35-0.36, SL 0.34-0.38, EL 0.17, CI 92-95, SI 97-106, PRW 0.35-0.36, ML 0.61-0.63.

Body pale brown, legs yellow, all covered with relatively few sparse pubescence. Head distinctly broader than long. Occiput straight. Third funicular segment about twice longer than second segment. Fourth funicular segment as long as or little longer than second and third segments combined. Anterior clypeal margin with one pair of long hairs. Eyes prominent occupying more than half of head sides.

Type Material
Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype worker and two syntype males and one syntype queen, Morocco: Magador, iv.1905 (Vaucher) [examined].