Plagiolepis lucidula

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  lucidula. Plagiolepis lucidula Wheeler, W.M. 1934d: 155 (w.) AUSTRALIA.

Worker
Length 1-1.5 mm.

Head subtrapezoidal, longer than broad, narrower in front than behind, with straight posterior border, broadly rounded posterior corners and nearly ,straight sides. Eyes rather large, feebly convex, placed distinctly nearer the posterior than the anterior corners. Mandibles narrow, with oblique 6-toothed masticatory borders, the first, fourth and sixth tooth larger than the others. Clypeus rather short, convex, carinate at the base, its anterior border broadly rounded and entire. Frontal area very distinct, triangular, longer than broad; frontal groove tenuous, distinct as far back as the anterior ocellus. Antennae slender; scapes extending one-fifth their length beyond the posterior border of the head; funiculi enlarged distally, first joint twice as long as broad, thicker than joints 2 and 3; joint 2 as broad as long, 3 longer, 4 to 6 about •one and one-half times as long as broad, 7 to 9 shorter, terminal joint swollen, nearly as long as the three preceding together. Thorax short but not stout, broad through the pronotum which is twice as broad as long without the neck; mesonotum narrower, nearly one and one-third times as broad as long, parallel-sided; mesometanotal suture obsolete or indistinct; metanotnm very short, its spiracles prominent, separated by a distance equal to only three times their diameter; metaepinotal suture distinct, epinotum broader than the mesonotum, broader behind than in front, with straight sides. In profile the mesonotml1 is convex, higher than the pronotum, the metanotal impression, :shallow, the epinotum long, with the base convex and only about one-fourth as long as the flat, sloping declivity into which it passes without a distinct angle; seen from behind the declivity is broad below, narrowed and rounded above and submarginate at the sides. Petiole low, its scale small, strongly inclined forward and rather thick, its superior border from behind semicircular above. Gaster broadly elliptical, the first segment large, overlying the petiole.

Shining; mandibles finely shagreened and coarsely punctate; remainder of body very finely and superficially punctulate, the leg, and scapes more densely than the body.

Erect hairs sparse, present only on the mandibles and clypeus where they are yellowish, and on the gaster where they are brown and distinctly coarser; pubescence pale, very fine and appressed on the body, not sufficiently dense to conceal the shining integument, denser on the appendages.

Castaneous brown; head somewhat darker than the thorax and gaster; mandibles yellow, with reddish teeth; scapes pale brown; palpi, labium and maxillae white; tarsi and articulations of legs sordid yellow.

Type Material
Described from six workers, which I found under stones at Lady Edeline Beach, Rottnest Island (:S. 23, '31).