Pheidole moerens

On Sanibel Island, Florida, I found colonies of moerens abundant, nesting in sandy soil at the base of trees in parks and around houses; and in Houston in a rotting tree limb on the ground of a park. Naves (1985) records nests in northern Florida from a wide range of sites, under boards, at the base of trees and fence posts, along tree roots, under palm leaves, inside wall crevices, but only rarely in the soil. According to Naves, the colonies are monogynous, with nuptial flights usually occurring in July. Colonies grow to populations of 600 or more workers, of which somewhat fewer than 20 percent are majors. In nature they feed on seeds and insects, the latter taken alive or scavenged. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Scattered populations occur in the West Indies (Haiti, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Culebra) and southern United States (Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Houston, Texas). The native range is unknown, but may be the Greater Antilles. (Wilson 2003)

This taxon was described from Puerto Rico.

Worker
Minor

Nomenclature

 *  moerens. Pheidole moerens Wheeler, W.M. 1908a: 136, pl. 12, figs. 22, 23 (s.w.) PUERTO RICO. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1972b: 244 (l.). Senior synonym of dominicensis: Naves, 1985: 65; of creola: Wilson, 2003: 461.
 * dominicensis. Pheidole moerens subsp. dominicensis Wheeler, W.M. 1913d: 241 (s.) DOMINICA. Junior synonym of moerens: Naves, 1985: 65.
 * creola. Pheidole moerens subsp. creola Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1914: 25 (s.w.) HAITI. Wheeler, W.M. 1936b: 198 (q.). Junior synonym of moerens: Wilson, 2003: 461.

Description
From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS Similar to Pheidole exigua, Pheidole flavens, Pheidole nitidicollis, Pheidole nuculiceps, Pheidole orbica, Pheidole pholeops and Pheidole sculptior, easily confused with the sympatric and abundant Pheidole flavens, distinguished as follows.

Major: variably reddish brown; occiput smooth and shiny, and most of rest of head carinulate, with a small patch of rugoreticulum just behind the antennal fossa on each side; intercarinal spaces on head sparsely foveolate, subopaque to feebly shining; anterior half of pronotum carinulate; postpetiole from above elliptical.

Minor: medium to dark brown; small, loose rugoreticulum present mesad to each eye; rugulae extend posterior to eyes; all of head and mesosoma foveolate.

P. moerens is distinguished from Pheidole flavens by the broader smooth space of the occiput and feebler intercarinular foveolation on the head of the major, and especially by the darker color and more extensive sculpturing of the minor.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Syntype major: HW 0.84, HL 0.90, SL 0.46, EL 0.10, PW 0.40. Syntype minor: HW 0.42, HL 0.48, SL 0.44, EL 0.06, PW 0.26.

COLOR Major: medium reddish brown, with vertex a shade darker. Minor: body medium to dark brown, appendages brownish yellow. According to Naves (1985), the shade of color in laboratory colonies fed with house flies is darker than in colonies fed only with honey.



'''Figure. Upper: syntype, major. Lower: syntype, minor. PUERTO RICO: Utuado. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
and - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Type Locality Information
Culebra Island, West Indies. (Wilson 2003)

Etymology
Unknown, possibly Gr Moira, goddess of destiny. (Wilson 2003)

Additional References
Naves, M. A. 1985. A monograph of the genus Pheidole in Florida, USA (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 1: 53–90.

Wheeler, W. M. 1908a. The ants of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 24: 117–158.

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