Polyrhachis dives

Nesting habits seem to be identical throughout the range. P. dives is found in open woodlands and swampy coastal plains, where it builds a characteristic carton structure on the lower branches of trees and shrubs, joining the foliage and twigs with silk to form the nest (Kohout 1988).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia. Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Guam, Indonesia, Krakatau Islands, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore. Oriental Region: India, Myanmar, Thailand. Palaearctic Region: China, Japan.

The distribution of P. dives in Australia is apparently confined to two widely separated areas, one in the Northern Territory (Koolpinyah), and the other in North Queensland (Yarrabah south to Mission Beach). P. dives is very common in suitable habitats in Papua New Guinea, but I have never seen material collected in the Torres Strait islands, on Cape York Peninsula, or south of the Gulf of Carpentaria. The species is only moderately variable, and, although the Australian populations are each apparently well isolated from others, Australian specimens are closely comparable to those from elsewhere (Kohout 1988).

Nomenclature

 *  dives. Polyrhachis dives Smith, F. 1857a: 64 (w.) SINGAPORE. Mayr, 1867a: 49 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953e: 208 (l.); Hung, Imai & Kubota, 1972: 1025 (k.). Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 132. Senior synonym of democles: Forel, 1911e: 298; of euclides, mutiliae: Bolton, 1974b: 173; of exulans: Kohout, 1988c: 433; of vicina: Wang & Wu, 1991: 599; of lucens: Dorow, 1995: 52; of siwiensis: Kohout, 1998: 515. Current subspecies: nominal plus belli, rectispina. See also: Bingham, 1903: 396; Kohout, 2010: 180.
 * affinis. Polyrhachis affinis Smith, F. 1858b: 63 (w.) MYANMAR. [Junior secondary homonym of affinis Le Guillou, above.] Replacement name: vicina Roger, 1863b: 7.
 * democles. Polyrhachis democles Smith, F. 1861b: 40, pl. 1, fig. 9 (q.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi). Junior synonym of dives: Forel, 1911e: 298.
 * mutiliae. Polyrhachis mutiliae Smith, F. 1861b: 39, pl. 1, figs. 15, 20 (w.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi). Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 197. Junior synonym of dives: Bolton, 1974b: 173.
 * vicina. Polyrhachis vicina Roger, 1863b: 7. Replacement name for affinis Smith, F. 1858b: 63. [Junior secondary homonym of affinis Le Guillou, 1842: 314.] Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 197. Junior synonym of dives: Wang & Wu, 1991: 599.
 * euclides. Polyrhachis dives var. euclides Forel, 1913f: 202 (w.q.m.) TAIWAN. Junior synonym of dives: Bolton, 1974b: 173.
 * siwiensis. Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla) dives var. siwiensis Santschi, 1932b: 20 (q.) NEW GUINEA. Junior synonym of dives: Kohout, 1998: 515.
 * exulans. Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla) exulans Clark, 1941: 91, pl. 13, fig. 24 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of dives: Kohout, 1988c: 433.
 * lucens. Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla) lucens Donisthorpe, 1947d: 194 (q.) NEW GUINEA. Junior synonym of dives: Dorow, 1995: 52.

Type Material


Polyrhachis democles

Holotype dealate queen in. Labelled “Tond.” (= Tondano, Sulawesi) and with a Donisthorpe type-label.

Polyrhachis mutiliae

Two worker syntypes in. Labelled “Tond.” (= Tondano, Sulawesi), one of them with a Donisthorpe type-label.

Additional References
Xiaoming Liu, Gengsi Xi, Zhenyu Zhang, Ke Li & Hui He. 2011. Molecular Cloning, Characterization and Expression Analysis of a Tailless Homolog in the Ant Polyrhachis vicina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 58: 667-680.