Pheidole perpusilla

This species occurs in wet climate areas, from sea level to 1200m elevation. In mature forest areas it is a common species under epiphytes in the canopy, although its minute size makes it easy to overlook. It also occurs on trees in synanthropic habitats such as coffee farms and city parks. (Longino 2009)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago.

Nomenclature

 *  perpusilla. Pheidole flavens subsp. perpusilla Emery, 1894c: 157 (s.w.q.) BRAZIL. Combination in P. (Decapheidole): Forel, 1912f: 237. Raised to species: Emery, 1896g: 80. Senior synonym of decem, emersoni: Wilson, 2003: 553; of breviscapa: Longino, 2009: 61..
 * breviscapa. Pheidole flavens var. breviscapa Forel, 1899c: 77 (s.) GUATEMALA. Raised to species: Wilson, 2003: 383. Junior synonym of perpusilla: Longino, 2009: 61.
 * decem. Pheidole decem Forel, 1901e: 366 (s.) TRINIDAD. Combination in P. (Decapheidole): Forel, 1912f: 237. Junior synonym of perpusilla: Wilson, 2003: 553.
 * emersoni. Pheidole (Hendecapheidole) emersoni Wheeler, W.M. 1922d: 4, fig. 2 (w.q.m.) GUYANA. Junior synonym of perpusilla: Wilson, 2003: 553.

Description
From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS A member of the perpusilla group (10-segmented antenna, very small body size), distinguished within the group by the following traits.

Major: dorsum of head except for frontal triangle and mid-clypeus completely covered by longitudinal carinulae; propodeal spines short and stout, less than a third as long as the basal propodeal face anterior to them; first gastral tergite and dorsum of postpetiolar node smooth and shiny; pronotum varies from foveolate (South America) to smooth (Panama).

Minor: all of head and mesosoma foveolate and opaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Major (Mazaruni, Guyana): HW 0.60, HL 0.62, SL 0.26, EL 0.06, PW 0.32. Minor (syntype of synonymous emersoni): HW 0.34, HL 0.38, SL 0.28, EL 0.06, PW 0.26.

COLOR Major: most of body and appendages reddish yellow, gaster medium to dark brown.

Minor: body yellowish brown, appendages in contrasting yellow.



'''Figure. Upper: major, composite of specimens from Mazaruni, Guyana, and Barro Colorado Island, Panama (latter specimen compared with syntype in Emery collection by W. L. Brown). Lower: minor, Barro Colorado Island, Panama. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
Longino (2009):

Syntype major, minor worker, gyne: Brazil, Pará (Schulz).

Pheidole flavens var. breviscapa Holotype major worker: Guatemala, Retalhuleu (Stoll) (examined).

Pheidole decem Forel, 1901a: 366. Syntype major worker: Trinidad.

Pheidole (Hendecapheidole) emersoni. Syntype minor worker, gyne, male: Guyana, Kartabo (Emerson).

Etymology
L perpusilla, extremely small. (Wilson 2003)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Adams B. J., S. A. Schnitzer, and S. P. Yanoviak. 2019. Connectivity explains local ant community structure in a Neotropical forest canopy: a large-scale experimental approach. Ecology 100(6): e02673.
 * Adams, R.M.M. and J.T. Longino. 2007. Nesting biology of the arboreal fungus-growing ant Cyphomyrmex cornutus and behavioral interactions with the social-parasitic ant Megalomyrmex mondabora. Insectes Sociaux 54:136-143
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Emery C. 1894. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. VI-XVI. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 26: 137-241.
 * Emery C. 1896. Formiche raccolte dal dott. E. Festa nei pressi del golfo di Darien. Bollettino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia Comparata della Reale Università di Torino 11(229): 1-4.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Forel A. 1901. Variétés myrmécologiques. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 45: 334-382.
 * Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
 * Kempf W. W. 1972. A study of some Neotropical ants of genus Pheidole Westwood. I. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 15: 449-464.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * LaPolla, J.S. and S.P. Cover. 2005. New species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Guyana, with a list of species known from the country. Tranactions of the American Entomological Society 131(3-4):365-374
 * Longino J. T. 2009. Additions to the taxonomy of New World Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2181: 1-90.
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
 * Longino J. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
 * Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. A new genus and subgenus of Myrmicinae from tropical America. American Museum Novitates 46: 1-6.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. The ants of Trinidad. American Museum Novitates 45: 1-16.
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press