Pheidole perpilosa

Cover found colonies nesting in forests containing various combinations of pine, oak, and juniper, often in valleys, nesting under rocks or in open soil. Colonies are monogynous and large, containing up to 1500 minors and majors. The workers are predaceous; seed caches have not been found in the nests. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Stefan Cover has collected several colonies at 1400–1850 m in the mountains of central and southern Arizona south of the Mogollon rim, in particular Cochise, Gila, and Yavapai Counties. He reports a colony intermediate between perpilosa and Pheidole vallicola from Rucker Canyon, Cochise Co. (Wilson 2003)

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

Castes
Minor

Nomenclature

 *  perpilosa. Pheidole perpilosa Wilson, 2003: 336, figs. (s.w.) U.S.A.

Description
A member of the fallax group similar to Pheidole cockerelli and Pheidole gulo in some characters, distinguished as follows.

Major: yellow; densely covered by long erect to suberect hairs (many as long as Eye Length); rugoreticulum covers most of space between each eye and antennal fossa, area behind (ventral to) eye, and a broad, continuous band across the dorsal surface of the head posterior to the eyes; frontal lobes and dorsal surface of occiput carinulate; all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; mesonotal convexity subangulate in dorsal-oblique view; apex of petiolar node tapered in side view; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped.

Minor: entire body densely covered by erect to suberect hairs, many longer than Eye Length; entire head and most of mesosoma foveolate and opaque; most of dorsal surface of head carinulate; anterior margin of pronotum rugulose; occipital margin in frontal view broad, lacking nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.34, HL 1.40, SL 0.80, EL 0.22, PW 0.70. Paratype minor: HW 0.70, HL 0.82, SL 0.92, EL 0.16, PW 0.52.

COLOR Major: body yellowish brown except for gaster, which is light brown.

Minor: body plain medium brown except for genae, which are brownish yellow; appendages brownish yellow.



'''Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Locality Information
ARIZONA: Pinal Mt., Gila Co., 1600 m, col. Stefan Cover.

Etymology
L perpilosa, very hairy.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Cover S. P., and R. A. Johnson. 20011. Checklist of Arizona Ants. Downloaded on January 7th at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/AZants-2011%20updatev2.pdf
 * Johnson R. Personnal Database. Accessed on February 5th 2014 at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/resources.htm
 * LaBrun, E.G. and D.H. Feener Jr. 2007. When trade-offs interact: balance of terror enforces dominance discovery trade-off in a local ant assemblage. Journal of Animal Ecology 76:58-64
 * LeBrun, E.G. 2005. Who Is the Top Dog in Ant Communities? Resources, Parasitoids, and Multiple Competitive Hierarchies. Oecologia 142(4):643-652
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press