Apterostigma dentigerum

Identification
Mera-Rodriguez, et al. (2020) - Frontal lobes in frontal view with strong angle or posterolateral lobe; lateral-ventral margin of frontal lobe sinusoidal: convex posteriorly and curved towards dorsum, without any ventral curvature; and propodeum in lateral view with anterodorsal profile long and gradually very convex, posteriorly shorter and more curved (Lattke 1997).

Distribution
Mera-Rodriguez, et al. (2020) - Widely distributed in Central and South America. Its known range extends from Honduras to Mato Grosso, central Brazil (Lattke 1997; Mayhé-Nuñes and Jaffé 1998).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Venezuela.

Biology
Gonzalez et al. (2016) found that, a fly in the family Chloropidae, parasitizes larvae of Apterostigma dentigerum. Larval flies are solitary ectoparasitoids, each of which attaches to a single ant larva and develops from larva to pupa in 2 wk, consuming nearly the entire host, and then ecloses as an adult 1 wk later. Overall parasitism prevalence was 6.8% of 203 nests, and flies were active during both the dry and rainy seasons. Intensity of parasitism ranged from 18.2 to 100% of larvae attacked per parasitized nest. No other species of Apterostigma that nested in the same localities were parasitized by the flies, including Apterostigma pilosum (n = 93 nests) and Apterostigma auriculatum (n = 10 nests). All immature ants, parasitized or not, as well as immature stages of Pseudogaurax paratolmos, were attended by adult ants that exhibited normal brood care behavior, including covering immatures with mycelia, grooming, and maintaining brood in the fungus garden.

Nomenclature

 * . Apterostigma dentigerum Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 51 (w.q.m.) COSTA RICA.
 * Status as species: Weber, 1958c: 246; Kempf, 1972a: 24; Bolton, 1995b: 74; Lattke, 1997: 151 (redescription); Fernández & Serna, 2019: 839.
 * Senior synonym of angulatum: Weber, 1958c: 246; Kempf, 1972a: 24; Bolton, 1995b: 74; Lattke, 1997: 151.
 * Senior synonym of dubium: Weber, 1958c: 246; Kempf, 1972a: 24; Bolton, 1995b: 74; Lattke, 1997: 151.
 * angulatum. Apterostigma collare subsp. angulatum Weber, 1938b: 169, figs. 4, 12 (w.q.) PANAMA.
 * Wheeler, G.C. 1949: 667 (l.).
 * Status as species: Weber, 1941b: 111.
 * Junior synonym of dentigerum: Weber, 1958c: 246; Kempf, 1972a: 24; Bolton, 1995b: 74; Lattke, 1997: 151.
 * dubium. Apterostigma collare subsp. dubium Weber, 1938b: 168, figs. 6, 14, 19 (w.q.) PANAMA.
 * Status as species: Weber, 1941b: 110.
 * Junior synonym of dentigerum: Weber, 1958c: 246; Kempf, 1972a: 24; Bolton, 1995b: 74; Lattke, 1997: 151.

Worker Morphology
These characters are collated in the Worker Morphology table.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Gomez V. E. S., and G. Z. González. 2007. Catalogo de Las Hormigas Presentes en El Museo de Historia Natural de la Universidad del Cauca. Popayán : 1-58.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Lattke J. E. 1997. Revisión del género Apterostigma Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Arquivos do Instituto Biológico (São Paulo) 34: 121-221
 * Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Mayhe-Nunes A. J., and K. Jaffe. 1998. On the biogeography of attini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ecotropicos 11(1): 45-54.
 * Sosa-Calvo J., F. Fernandez, and T. R. Schultz. 2018. Phylogeny and evolution of the cryptic fungus-farming ant genus Myrmicocrypta F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) inferred from multilocus data. Systematic Entomology DOI: 10.1111/syen.12313
 * Villesen, P., U. Mueller, T.R. Schultz, R.M.M. Adams and A.C. Bouck. Evolution of Ant-Cultivar Specialization and Cultivar Switching in Apterostigma Fungus-Growing Ants. Evolution 58(10):2252-2265
 * Weber N. A. 1938. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part IV. Additional new forms. Part V. The Attini of Bolivia. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 9: 154-206.
 * Weber N. A. 1941. The biology of the fungus-growing ants. Part VII. The Barro Colorado Island, Canal Zone, species. Rev. Entomol. (Rio J.) 12: 93-130.
 * Weber N. A. 1958. Synonymies and types of Apterostigma (Hym: Formicidae). Entomological News 69: 243-251.
 * Wheeler G. C. 1949. The larvae of the fungus-growing ants. Am. Midl. Nat. 40: 664-689.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1925. Neotropical ants in the collections of the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Arkiv för Zoologi 17A(8): 1-55.