Adelomyrmex myops

Most records reveal A. myops to be a lowland species but with less habitat specificity than other Adelomyrmex. It occurs in mature forest of varying seasonality, from aseasonal wet forest to strongly seasonal dry forest. It also has been collected in disturbed habitats, including a cacao plantation in Honduras. There is a record from the Galapagos Islands, where it is probably introduced (Herrera & Longino 2008). It can be locally abundant, occurring in up to 20% of quantitative miniWinkler samples. The great majority of records are from 600 m elevation or lower, but an anomalous site is Cerro Musún in Nicaragua. Adelomyrmex myops occurred in Winkler samples from 1000–1100 m, but not in quantitative Winkler sampling around 700 m. (Longino 2012)

Identification
Longino (2012) - In some cases, the dorsal promesonotal rugae of workers are somewhat longitudinally oriented, blurring the distinction between A. myops, Adelomyrmex tristani, and Adelomyrmex paratristani. The dorsal rugae are never strongly linear, like most collections of A. tristani and A. paratristani. Nearly all A. tristani have strongly linear dorsal rugae, but there is more variation in A. paratristani, where some workers have strongly vermiculate rugae, approaching the condition of some A. myops workers. In other words, A. myops occupies the range of variation from completely reticulate rugose to strongly vermiculate rugose with some longitudinal orientation, while A. paratristani ranges from the latter condition to having completely linear, parallel, longitudinal rugae. Adelomyrmex myops has dorsal pilosity more like A. tristani than A. paratristani. This is most evident on the gaster, where A. paratristani usually has sparse, long, erect setae, with very reduced presence of more decumbent setae beneath them, while A. myops has a denser brush of erect and subdecumbent setae.

Queens of A. myops have an abrupt transition from longitudinal rugae on the mesonotum to coarse, reticulate rugosity on the scutellum. In A. tristani and A. paratristani, the scutellum has longitudinal, subparallel rugae.

Distribution
Guatemala to Panama, Ecuador (Galapagos).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Galapagos Islands, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama.

Castes
Males have yet to be collected.

Nomenclature

 *  myops. Apsychomyrmex myops Wheeler, W.M. 1910a: 261, fig. 2 (w.) GUATEMALA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1955b: 29 (l.); Fernández, 2003b: 25 (q.). Combination in Adelomyrmex: Kempf, 1972a: 18.

Worker
Holotype (other, n=9). HL 0.75 (0.57–0.70) HW 0.66 (0.53–0.66) SL 0.46 (0.38–0.41) EL 0.07 (0.05–0.07) WL 0.76 (0.56–0.70) GL 0.87 (0.68–0.87) TL 3.00 (2.31–3.00) CI 88 (90–100) SI 70 (66–73).

Mandibles with 5 to 7 teeth decreasing in size from apical teeth. Eyes small, with approximately 10–12 ommatidia. Hypostomal tooth small, sharp pointed. Promesonotum evenly convex, dorsal face of propodeum very short. Metanotal groove deep, distinct. Propodeal spines higher than wide. Node with anterior and posterior faces more or less parallel, dorsal face nearly straight. Postpetiole lower than petiole, sub-quadrate, ventral carina well developed. Head, pronotum and mesonotum coarsely reticulate-rugose, with longitudinal rugulae at anterior part of head and more or less on the sides of mesosoma. Transverse rugae between propodeal spines and sides of petiole and postpetiole. Declivous face of propodeum ranges from smooth to covered with transverse rugae. Mandibles smooth or with longitudinal rugae feebly marked on outer half. Mandibles, legs and gaster usually smooth and shining. Hairs yellowish, long and flexuous on the body, more short and appressed on antennae and legs. Body black to dark brown, antennae and legs lighter, brown to yellowish.

Queen
HW 0.65 HL 0.75 SL 0.44 EL 0.14 WL 0.83 GL 0.96 TL 3.12 CI 87 SI 68.

As worker with the typical modifications of myrmicine queen. Central anterior portion of promesonotum smooth and shining, posterior area with longitudinal rugulae. Metanotum coarsely rugo-reticulate. Pronotum rugo-reticulate. Sides of mesosoma with striation more or less longitudinal, most of katepisternum smooth and shining.

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.
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Fernández, F. 2003. Revision of the myrmicinae ants of the Adelomyrmex genus-group. Zootaxa 361: 1-52.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Herrera H. W., and J. T. Longino. 2008. New records of introduced ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Galapagos Islands. Galapagos Research 65: 16-19.
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Longino J. T. 2012. A review of the ant genus Adelomyrmex Emery 1897 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Central America. Zootaxa 3456: 1-35
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
 * 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/
 * Mann W. M. 1922. Ants from Honduras and Guatemala. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 61: 1-54.
 * Menozzi C. 1931. Contribuzione alla conoscenza del microgenton di Costa Rica. III. Hymenoptera - Formicidae. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici. 25: 259-274.
 * Philpott, S.M., P. Bichier, R. Rice, and R. Greenberg. 2007. Field testing ecological and economic benefits of coffee certification programs. Conservation Biology 21: 975-985.
 * Smith M. R. 1947. Ants of the genus Apsychomyrmex Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 17: 468-473.
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133