Huberia striata

Brown (1958) - According to Moore (1940b), the nests are very populous and without definite colony limits; he found it very easy to combine groups from different localities into a single nest. The ants nest in the soil, often under stones in cooler parts of the range, although they frequently nest in rotting wood in the north. H. striata is a general feeder, and keeps homopterans in its nests.

Identification
Brown (1958) - The worker of Huberia striata is larger than that of Monomorium antarcticum on the average; most specimens are over 4.5 mm. long (outstretched, including mandibles), and occasional ones reach over 5 mm. Minim workers from incipient nests may, however, range slightly below 4 mm. Females are much larger, running from about 7.5 up to 9 mm. The males approach the females in length, but have smaller heads and much larger petiolar and postpetiolar nodes.

Males are always blackish in color, but the worker and female coloration varies widely. The workers range from bright reddish-yellow to nearly jet black, the intermediates darkening either relatively concolorously, or through variously mottled combinations of reddish and fuscous. Strangely enough, the coloration parallels at least roughly that of the Monomorium I have provisionally assigned to antarcticum, so that, in general, nests of the two species found at the same place tend to be of the same or similar color. This may account for some of the mixed series that have reached me; it is not unusual for two different species of ants to be found in the same log or under the same stone, even though their nests may not really be mixed. The extent and precision of this color correspondence I cannot safely judge without seeing the species involved at a number of localities in the field, so I must leave this problem to some future investigator. Nevertheless, the possibility of mimicry, of social-parasitic relations between the two species, or even simply the adaptive correlations of color with factors like temperature, humidity and insolation, present tempting subjects for speculation.

The female color pattern follows that of the worker, although even at its lightest, the female still is darker than the worker, retaining particularly broad areas of infuscation over the alitrunk and gaster.

Distribution
H. striata is very widely distributed in New Zealand.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: New Zealand.

Nomenclature

 *  striata. Tetramorium striatum Smith, F. 1876b: 481 (w.q.m.) NEW ZEALAND. Forel, 1894e: 229 (m.); Emery, 1899c: 8 (l.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1960b: 15 (l.). Combination in Huberia: Forel, 1890b: cvi. Senior synonym of rufescens: Brown, 1958h: 26.
 * rufescens. Huberia striata var. rufescens Forel, 1892c: 339 (w.) NEW ZEALAND. Forel, 1902h: 447 (q.). Junior synonym of striata: Brown, 1958h: 26.

Type Material
Brown (1958) - Female, worker, male. “west coast of South Island, at Peel Forest, and at Kelly's Creek.” Types in British Museum, not seen.