Pheidole californica

Colonies have been found nesting variously under objects, in oak galls, or in open sandy soil (Cole 1934b; Mallis 1941). Stefan Cover reports a population in moist spots in a grazed Chihuahuan desert at 1295 m in Hidalgo, extreme southwest New Mexico. The colonies were nesting in soil with a high clay content; the most common other ant species was Leptothorax pergandei (=Temnothorax pergandei). (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
California north to Washington, east to Idaho and New Mexico. (Wilson 2003)

This taxon was described from the United States.

Description
From Wilson (2003): A member of the “pilifera subgroup” of the larger pilifera group, comprising Pheidole calens, Pheidole californica, Pheidole carrolli, Pheidole cavigenis, Pheidole clementensis, Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole hoplitica, Pheidole littoralis, Pheidole micula, Pheidole pilifera, Pheidole polymorpha, Pheidole rugulosa, Pheidole senex, Pheidole soritis, Pheidole tepicana and Pheidole torosa, which subgroup is distinguished by the following traits. Major: dorsal head surface extensively sculptured; occipital lobes horizontally rugulose (or, in littoralis, foveate, in carrolli, smooth, and in micula and soritis, carinulate); postpetiole from above diamond-shaped, trapezoidal, or spinose. Minor: eye medium-sized to large.

P. californica is distinguished by the following combination of traits. Color yellow.

Major: all of pronotum smooth and shiny; humerus in dorsal oblique view low and smoothly convex; propodeal spine in side view equilaterally triangular; postpetiole from above trapezoidal. Closest to clementensis, from which it differs by its smaller size (HW in californica major about 0.90 mm, in clementensis major about 1.10 mm) and proportionately larger eye (major EL/HW 0.20 in californica versus 0.13 in clementensis). Also, the sides of the major head are smooth and shiny in some, but not all, californica populations (Philip S. Ward, personal communication).

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Major (Palo Alto, California): HW 0.92, HL 1.06, SL 0.54, EL 0.18, PW 0.44. Minor (Palo Alto): HW 0.48, HL 0.56, SL 0.48, EL 0.12, PW 0.28.

COLOR Major: concolorous yellow; gaster a slightly contrasting brownish yellow.

Minor: yellow with a slight brownish tinge.



'''Figure. Upper: major. Lower: minor. CALIFORNICA: Palo Alto. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
- as reported in Wilson (2003)

Type Locality Information
San Francisco. (Wilson 2003)

Etymology
Based on the state of origin of the type series. (Wilson 2003)

Additional References
Cole, A. C., Jr. 1934b. An ecological study of the ants of the southern desert shrub region of the United States. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 27: 388–405.

Mallis, A. 1941. A list of the ants of California with notes on their habits and distribution. Bull. South. Calif. Acad. Sci. 40: 61–100.

Text and images from this publication used by permission of the author.