Pheidole texana

P. texana is evidently a rare species. Wheeler (1903c) discovered only four colonies over many years’ collecting, and all in Travis County, Texas; all were in grassland, nesting in open soil, with the entrances surmounted by small mounds about 10 cm in diameter. During their intensive collecting in western Texas, Moody and Francke (1982) found only two colonies, nesting in open, fully exposed clayey loam. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Known from the type locality, as well as Sutton and Uvalde Counties in western Texas. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States.

Worker
Minor

Images from AntWeb
Major

Nomenclature

 *  texana. Pheidole texana Wheeler, W.M. 1903b: 97, fig. 4 (s.w.) U.S.A. See also: Wilson, 2003: 353.

Description
From Wilson (2003): A member of the fallax group, distinguished by the following combination of traits.

Major: posterior third of dorsal surface of the head rugoreticulate; scape slightly expanded at the base; promesonotal dorsum transversely carinulate; postpetiolar node from above very wide, and elliptical; small subpostpetiolar process present.

Minor: occiput rugoreticulate; promesonotal dorsum transversely carinulate; postpetiole from above very broad, and bell-shaped; mesosoma, waist, and all head except frontal triangle and middle of clypeus foveolate and opaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.40, HL 1.54, SL 0.86, EL 0.26, PW 0.74. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.68, HL 0.78, SL 0.84, EL 0.16, PW 0.48.

COLOR Major and minor: concolorous light reddish brown.



'''Figure. Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Worker
Major Length 4-5 mm.

Head rather small, but larger than the gaster, a little longer than broad, excluding the mandibles, cordiform, distinctly broader behind than in front, with deeply excised posterior border, rounded posterior angles, and a rather broad median furrow extending from the frontal area to the occiput. Frontal area triangular, about as broad as long. Clypeus short, its anterior border flattened and rather deeply notched in the middle. Frontal carinae short, prominent. Eyes moderate, well in front of the middle of the sides of the head. Mandibles large, convex with flattened blades, which are finely denticulate basally, with two prominent terminal teeth. Antennal scape broadened and flattened, distinctly concave on its anterior surface, hardly reaching to half the distance between the eye and• the posterior corner of the head, funiculus with all its joints longer than broad, the last three joints forming a well-developed club. Thorax not very robust, pronotal angles rounded, pronotum rather flattened above; mesonotum angular, projecting upward, concave in the middle when seen from behind; separated by a distinct suture from the pronotum and by a more distinct constriction from the epinotum. The latter has its basal surface and declivity both in the same plane, gradually sloping backwards and distinctly concave; spines well-developed, blunt, longer than broad at their bases and much farther apart than long, directed upwards, backwards, and outwards. Petiole in profile with long concave ascending nodal surface and convex ventral surface; the node is acute, transverse, with median emargination and short, concave posterior declivity; seen from above the petiole is small, not more than one and a half times as long as broad, broader behind than in front, constricted in the middle, with rather acute posterior angles. Postpetiole three times as broad as the petiole and more than twice as broad as long, with a small, acute projection in the middle on either side; in profile the dorsal surface is evenly convex and longer than the more uneven ventral surface. Gaster rather large, elliptical, flattened on its dorsal surface. Legs of moderate length and of the usual conformation.

Mandibles shining, indistinctly reticulate. covered with large piligerous punctures. Clypeus shining in the middle, faintly reticulate like the mandibles, on either side with a few coarse longitudinal rugae. Frontal area impressed, shining, with a few longitudinal rugae on either side. Head opaque throughout. covered with coarse reticulate rugae enclosing more finely reticulate interrugal spaces; the main rugae with distinctly longitudinal trend only on the front and cheeks. Cephalic furrow crossed by numerous transverse rugae especially towards the occipital border. Antennal scape shining, finely reticulate. Thorax, petiole, and postpetiole opaque like the head, but more finely reticulate rugose; only the dorsal surfaces are roughened, the pro- and mesonotum being crossed by a few coarse and irregular transverse rugae. Postpetiole with about eight shallow longitudinal impressions on its dorsal surface. Gaster and legs shining, their surfaces finely and regularly reticulate.

Body and appendages invested with rather long, more or less erect, tawny hairs. Rich ferruginous red throughout; legs and antennae but little paler than the body; gaster somewhat infuscated posteriorly, anteriorly pellucid and in many specimens appearing as if filled with a wine-red fluid so that this region has a more brilliant color than the remainder of the body.

Minor Length 2.5-3 mm.

Head but little longer than broad. its posterior border rather straight but not concave. Mandibles rather slender, 8-toothed. tile first, second. and fourth teeth from the apex being longer than the others. Clypeus sinuately emarginate in the middle. with a median and on either side two lateral longitudinal ridges or carinulae. Frontal area triangular, as long as broad, with a median longitudinal ridge. Antennal scapes not flattened, distinctly enlarged at their distal ends; exceeding the posterior angles of the head by somewhat more than twice their transverse diameter. Pronotum rounded above and on the sides. spheroidal; mesonotum projecting upwards as a transverse ridge which is not concave in the middle when seen from behind, separated by distinct constrictions from the pro- and epinotum. The latter shaped like that of the soldier. Petiole slender, fully twice as long as broad, in other respects like the corresponding segment of the soldier. Postpetiole nearly three times as broad as the petiole, hardly twice as broad as long. its sides and dorsal surface rounded, the angles of the former being very indistinct.

Sculpture like that of the soldier but feebler, especially on the head. Pilosity and color, too, as in the soldier, except that there is a large black spot on the vertex in many specimens.

Type Material
TEXAS: Austin, Travis Co., col. W. M. Wheeler. - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology
Named after state of origin of type colony. (Wilson 2003)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Gregg R. E. 1959. Key to the species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 66: 7-48.
 * LeBrun E. G., R. M. Plowes, and L. E. Gilbert. 2015. Imported fire ants near the edge of their range: disturbance and moisture determine prevalence and impact of an invasive social insect. Journal of Animal Ecology,81: 884–895.
 * Moody J. V., and O. F. Francke. 1982. The Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Western Texas Part 1: Subfamily Myrmicinae. Graduate Studies Texas Tech University 27: 80 pp.
 * O'Keefe S. T., J. L. Cook, T. Dudek, D. F. Wunneburger, M. D. Guzman, R. N. Coulson, and S. B. Vinson. 2000. The Distribution of Texas Ants. The Southwestern Entomologist 22: 1-92.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1903. A decad of Texan Formicidae. Psyche (Cambridge). 10: 93-111.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1908. The ants of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. (Part I.). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24: 399-485.
 * Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1985. A checklist of Texas ants. Prairie Naturalist 17:49-64.
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press