Dolichoderus kathae

Dolichoderus kathae has been collected from Callitris woodlands. It is known from a limited number of collections across semi-arid South Australia.

Identification
Sculpturing on head minimal, either essentially absent or consisting of very fine reticulations; head yellowish-red in colour; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; dorsum of pronotum finely reticulate, the surfaces matte; dorsum of propodeum evenly convex, the angle at approximately the same level as the metanotal groove; posterior face of propodeum weakly concave, separated from the dorsal face by at most a weakly defined angle.

Dolichoderus kathae is similar to Dolichoderus rutilus but differs in having the head and dorsum of the pronotum finely reticulate and matte while these areas are smooth and shiny in D. rutilus. It is also similar to Dolichoderus parvus, differing primarily in the shape of the propodeum. In D. kathae (and D. rutilus), the angle of the propodeum is relatively high, the dorsal surface being uniformly convex. In D. parvus the angle is relatively low as the dorsal surface drops posteriorly relative to the metanotal groove, giving the surface an asymmetrical appearance.

Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  kathae. Dolichoderus kathae Shattuck & Marsden, 2013: 124, fig. 15 (w.) AUSTRALIA.

Description
Sculpturing on the katepisternum (pleuron of the mesothorax) varies from smooth to longitudinally striate, but otherwise all specimens are similar.

Measurements (n=5). CI 84–89; EI 34–36; EL 0.30–0.32; HL 1.01–1.07; HW 0.86–0.92; ML 1.39–1.51; MTL 0.74–0.79; PronI 61.72–64.91; PronW 0.53–0.59; SI 111–116; SL 1.00–1.03.