Temnothorax tricarinatus

Mackay (2000) "This species nests under rocks and in moist soil in open grassy areas (Cole, 1953; DuBois, 1985), including foothill meadows, canyon deciduous forests, oak woodlands, oak-hickory forest (DuBois, 1985), ponderosa pine forests (Mackay et al., 1988), shortgrass prairie, sagebrush and pastures (Gregg, 1963), as well as cedar forests and areas with scant vegetation (Wheeler and Wheeler, 1963). It appears to do well in disturbed sites (Cole, 1952). Nests are small (Buren, 1944) and are monogynous (Frumhoff and Ward, 1992). Males have been found in nests from July to September (Cole, 1952)."



Identification
Mackay (2000) "Antenna 12-segmented, antennal scape nearly reaching occipital corner, clypeus with well developed carinae, including a medial carina and two lateral carinae, area between carinae mostly smooth and shining, dorsum of head rugulose, intrarugal spaces shining, area around eye with nearly foveolate punctures, dorsum of mesosoma finely rugulose, with a nearly smooth back ground, side of mesosoma rugose, propodeal spines well developed, length about half distance between bases of spines, subpetiolar process moderately well developed, apex blunt, node of petiole moderately sharp, top of node obliquely truncate, top of petiole and postpetiole with rugae, background surface smooth, dorsum of gaster shiny.

Temnothorax tricarinatus could be confused with several other species, especially T. stenotyle, and T. rugithorax. It can be separated from T. stenotyle as the postpetiole is noticeably widened when compared with the petiole. The head is much more coarsely sculptured, with coarse rugae, whereas the head of T. rugithorax is more finely sculptured, with fine rugulae, and even some areas that are nearly smooth and shining. Specimens of T. rugosus with a lightly sculptured gaster may key here. They differ in being much more coarsely sculptured, with coarse rugae on the head and dorsum of the mesosoma. The petiole is broader and not laterally "pinched" as it is in T. rugosus. The clypeus of T. tricarinatus has the medial and 2 lateral clypeal carinae well developed, whereas they are not much more developed than any of the other carinae in T. rugosus."

Range
USA: North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, Iowa.

Abundance
xxxxx Only known from a few collections. xxxxx

Biology
xxxxx

xxxxx

Original Combination
Leptothorax (Leptothorax) tricarinatus Emery, 1895c: 321, pl. 8, fig. 14 (w.) U.S.A. Smith, M.R. 1952b: 99 (m.). Combination in L. (Myrafant): Smith, M.R. 1950: 30; in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 272. See also: Wheeler, W.M. 1903c: 247; MacKay, 2000: 417.

Type Material
As reported in Mackay (2000) "Holotype worker (MCSN), [seen]."

Type Locality
Hill City, South Dakota

Etymology
Morphology. The clypeus has a well developed medial and two lateral carinae.