Dolichoderus doriae

Dolichoderus doriae occurs in forested areas ranging from dry sclerophyll to wet sclerophyll in eastern New South Wales, the ACT and southern Victoria. Nests are most commonly in soil under and along the edges of stones and branches on the ground or occasionally in rotten wood or in debris at the base of trees. During warmer weather workers and brood commonly form balls on the surface of the ground near nest entrances. Workers forage in trails on the ground and on tree trunks.

This is one of the better studied Australian species of Dolichoderus. These studies include: Forel (1902) (male description), Clark (1934) (queen (ergatoid) description), Wheeler and Wheeler (1966) (larval description), Dazzini Valcurone and Fanfani (1982) (glandular systems) and Fanfani and Dazzini Valcurone (1991) (metapleural gland).

Identification
Pronotum and propodeum with elongate spines; pronotal spines are short and directed anteriorly and approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body, in dorsal view a line drawn between their tips intersects the pronotal collar; first gastral tergite with abundant short erect hairs and gaster with golden pubescence (less obvious in older specimens); propodeal spines and sometimes antennae are lighter in colour than nearby body regions, ranging from dark red to red-brown; legs yellow, strongly contrasting with black body.

This species differs from Dolichoderus extensispinus by having anteriorly directed pronotal spines and from other members of the doriae group (except Dolichoderus clarki) by the abundant short erect hairs on the first gastral tergite. It most closely resembles D. clarki but can be differentiated by the yellow coloured legs, in contrast to the dark legs found in D. clarki.

Identification Keys including this Taxon

 * Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

There is a single record of this species from Townsville, Queensland, some 1200km north of the main range of this taxon. This collection shows typical morphology for the species and is probably a labelling error as no other records from this northern region are known.

Castes
Ergatoid queens have evolved in this species (Clark 1934)

Nomenclature

 *  doriae. Dolichoderus doriae Emery, 1887a: 252 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Forel, 1902h: 461 (m.); Clark, 1934b: 40 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1966: 726 (l.). Combination in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1894c: 228; in D. (Acanthoclinea): Wheeler, W.M. 1935c: 69. See also: Clark, 1930b: 254; Shattuck, 1994: 50.

Worker
Shattuck and Marsden (2013) - Sculpturing on mesosoma always present but varying in development from covering the entire surface to more weakly developed and with limited areas of nearly smooth integument (similar to figured individual). Propodeal spines varying in length (sometimes slightly longer than shown) and spread (occasionally much narrower than as figured). Propodeal spines and sometimes antennae lighter in colour than nearby body regions, ranging from dark red to red-brown.

Measurements (n=5). CI 93–98; EI 16–20; EL 0.27–0.31; HL 1.63–1.81; HW 1.55–1.71; ML 2.54–2.76; MTL 1.65–1.83; PronI 67.50–74.11; PronW 1.05–1.20; SI 106–118; SL 1.77–1.91.

Clark (1930) - Black. Mandibles and antennae brown, legs and apex of the spines red.

Shining. Head and thorax irregularly rugose-punctate. Clypeus longitudinally rugose. Antennal fovea striate-reticulate. Node coarsely rugose. Gaster densely and microscopically punctate.

Hair yellow, erect, moderately long and abundant throughout, shorter and suberect on the antennae and legs. Pubescence very fine and adpressed on the antennae, long and abundant on the gaster, where it forms a dense yellowish clothing almost hiding the sculpture.

Head ovate, much broader behind than in front, broadest just behind the eyes, occipital border and sides strongly convex. Frontal carinae erect, diverging outward behind, separated by almost their length. Clypeus convex on top, the anterior border convex, with a slight excision at the middle. Eyes small, globular, placed at the middle of the sides. Scapes of the antennae extending beyond the occipital border by fully one-third of their length; first segment of the funiculus slightly longer than the second, the others subequal. Mandibles armed with eleven teeth. Thorax fully twice as long as broad. Pronotum twice as broad as long, furnished with two long horizontal spines in front, directed forward and very Slightly outward; they are as long as their distance apart at their base. Mesonotum circular, convex above, in profile dome shaped, raised well above the pronotum. Epinotum longer than broad, triangular, furnished with two long, sharp, almost straight, spines directed upward and backward, at an angle of forty-five degrees; in profile the dorsum is straight, the declivity forming a right angle, concave at the bottom. Node scale-like, three times broader than long, concave in front, convex behind; in profile the anterior face straight, the dorsum and posterior face united in a curve. Gaster longer than broad, the anterior border concave below. Legs long and slender.