Strumigenys pulchella

Identification
Bolton (2000) - A member of the Strumigenys pulchella-group. There are four species in this group that have recurved or reflexed spatulate to spoon-shaped hairs somewhere on the clypeal margins. These peculiar hairs may occur on all margins, or may be confined to one or two pairs on the anterior margin immediately above the mandibles. Of the four pulchella is unique in having a flagellate apicoscrobal hair. Strumigenys reflexa has strikingly posteriorly curved pilosity on the lateral clypeal margins that does not occur in pulchella and Strumigenys missouriensis. Both missouriensis and reflexa have stiff stout hairs at the pronotal humeri and on the mesonotal dorsum, whereas in pulchella these hairs are long, fine and flagellate. Elongate filiform or flagellate hairs are entirely absent in Strumigenys memorialis and are even missing from the pronotal humeri and dorsal (outer) surfaces of the posterior tibia and basitarsus. Instead the cephalic dorsum, pronotal dorsum and tibiae have numerous short erect simple hairs that tend to be blunt apically; this pilosity is not repeated elsewhere in the complex or the group as a whole.

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



Nomenclature

 *  pulchella. Strumigenys pulchella Emery, 1895c: 327, pl. 8, fig. 19 (w.) U.S.A. Brown, 1953g: 71 (q.m.). Combination in S. (Cephaloxys): Emery, 1924d: 325; in S. (Trichoscapa): Smith, M.R., 1943f: 307; Creighton, 1950a: 309; in Smithistruma: Smith, M.R. 1951a: 828; Brown, 1953g: 70; in Pyramica: Bolton, 1999: 1673; in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 126. See also: Bolton, 2000: 122.

Worker
Bolton (2000) - TL 1.9-2.1, HL 0.53-0.61, HW 0.34-0.39, CI 62-66, ML 0.07-0.10, MI 12-17, SL 0.27-0.32, SI 78-82, PW 0.24-0.27, AL 0.53-0.59 (20 measured).

Lateral clypeal margins with a fringe of anteriorly curved spatulate to spoon-shaped hairs. Anterior clypeal margin broadly convex; above the mandible with 2 pairs of hairs that curve away from the midline, the outer pair longer than the pair closest to the midline. (Extremely rarely hairs on anterior cIypeal margin above mandibles point anteriorly, but even so they do not follow the arc of curvature of the laterally situated hairs.) Dorsum of clypeus very shallowly concave, with very small inconspicuous spatulate hairs distributed over the surface. Eye with 3 - 4 ommatidia in longest row. Apicoscrobal hair present, flagellate. Cephalic dorsum behind clypeus with spatulate ground-pilosity and with 1-2 pairs of fine filiform to flagellate hairs behind highest point of vertex. Long fine flagellate hairs also present at pronotal humeri, on dorsa of pronotum and mesonotum (easily abraded), and 1-2 on dorsal (outer) surface of hind basitarsus. On petiole and postpetiole hairs are fine, curved filiform to subflagellate. Hairs on first gastral tergite are shorter and filiform, more or less straight to shallowly curved.

Type Material
Bolton (2000) - Syntype workers, U.S.A. District of Columbia, Washington; and Pennsylvania, Beatty (T. Pergande) [examined].