Polyrhachis hemiopticoides

Identification
A member of the Polyrhachis aculeata species group in the subgenus Myrma

Polyrhachis hemiopticoides is a rather elegant species closely resembling both Polyrhachis aculeata and Polyrhachis cybele. It shares with the former a slender body with rather long and slender pronotal and petiolar spines and markedly light, reddish brown appendages. In contrast, P. cybele is more robust with thicker and shorter pronotal and petiolar spines and has generally very dark appendages. The petiole in P. hemiopticoides and P. cybele is broadly transverse, with a distinctly arcuate dorsal edge and dorsolateral spines arising obliquely from close to the posterior face of the petiole. As a result, the dorsal edge of the petiole is clearly visible in lateral view. In comparison, the dorsal edge of the petiole in P. aculeata is less prominent and, in lateral view, is hidden by the more upright dorsolateral spines. Polyrhachis aculeata also differs by the presence of numerous, relatively long, erect or semierect hairs that, in both the other species, are distinctly less abundant and virtually confined to the head and gaster (see also Kohout 2008: 258, 271).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India, Laos, Thailand.

Castes
Sexuals and immature stages unknown.

Nomenclature

 *  hemiopticoides. Polyrhachis (Myrma) hemiopticoides Mukerjee, 1930: 161, fig. 5 (w.) INDIA.

Description
Kohout (2013): Worker. Dimensions: TL c. 6.55-7.31; HL 1.68-1.81; HW 1.40-1.56; CI 83-86; SL 2.03-2.06; SI 132-145; PW 1.18-1.28; MTL 2.12-2.21 (3 measured).

Type Material
Kohout (2013): I did not have the opportunity to examine the syntypes of P. hemiopticoides lodged in the Indian Museum in Calcutta. In lieu of the original types, I have examined, by the courtesy of Dr Himender Bharti of Punjabi University, Patiala, India (PUPI), a specimen from Ayur identified by the original author (see Mukerjee 1934: 11-12).



References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Kohout R. J. 2013. A review of the Polyrhachis aculeata species-group of the subgenus Myrma Billberg (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae), with keys and descriptions of new species. Australian Entomologist 40(3): 137-171.