Carebara maccus

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Philippines.

Nomenclature

 *  maccus. Pheidologeton maccus Wheeler, W.M. 1929g: 52 (s.w.) PHILIPPINES. Combination in Carebara: Fischer, Azorsa & Fisher, 2014: 72.

Worker
Soldier Length 5.5 - 6 mm.

Much smaller than the preceding species. Head subrectangular, slightly longer than broad, its sides straight and parallel, its posterior border broadly but not deeply concave. Eyes at the anterior two-fifths of the head, small, not very convex, with about 8 facets in their greatest diameter. Ocellus lacking. Mandibles thick and convex, with two large apical and three broad, short basal teeth. Clypeus flat, its anterior border feebly and broadly sinuate in the middle. Antennal scapes curved, slender at the base, distinctly swollen at their tips, which reach nearly to the eyes; funicular joints 2-8 subequal, scarcely longer than broad. Frontal area and groove distinct, the latter continued into the occipital groove without median interruption. Thorax short; scutellum not very prominent; metanotum distinct; base of epinotum shorter than the delllivity, the teeth stout, acute, more than half as long as the base, directed upward and slightly outward. Petiole 1 1/2 times as long as broad, nearly as high as long, the node in profile cuneate, with long, straight anterior and short, nearly perpendicular, posterior slope, its tip somewhat narrowed upward, bluntly rounded in profile, entire and rounded when seen from behind. There is a trace of a dependent median lamella at the antero-ventral end of the petiole. Postpetiole transversely elliptical, 11/2 times as broad as long, with rounded, nonangulate sides, in profile evenly convex above. Gaster subcircular, much smaller than the head, very convex on the ventral side. Legs rather long, femora distinctly incrassated in the middle.

Shining; gaster, mandibles, legs and scapes more than the head, thorax and pedicel. Mandibles sparsely punctate, coarsely striate at the base, with several elongate impressions, or grooves along tile dental border. Clypeus smooth. Head coarsely rugose throughout, except a small shining and coarsely punctate area in the middle. The longitudinal rugae which occupy the anterior two-thirds and diverge on the front, are scarcely finer than the transverse rugae on the vertex. The anterior interrugal spaces are finely striate, those on the posterior portion of the head reticulate. The transverse rugae on the occiput turn downward on the posterior corners and continue into the longitudinal rugae of the sides of the head. Pronotum transversely rugulose; meso- and epinotum finely and densely punctate, their sides also irregularly longitudinally rugulose. Nodes of petiole and postpetiole smooth above, their segments below finely and densely punctate; upper surface of postpetiole with several longitudinal impressions. Gaster and legs smooth, with scattered, piligerous punctures.

Hairs yellow, rather abundant, of uneven length, erect even on the legs, conspicuously long on tile front.

Ferruginous red; mandibles red with broad black borders; anterior border of clypeus black; antennae, legs, including coxae, epinotal declivity and gaster yellow.

Media Length 2.5-4 mm.

Larger forms very similar to the soldier but with even less developed scutellum and smaller eyes. In smaller individuals the head becomes smooth and shining, but the anterior rugae are retained though they are feebler and sparser; on the vertex, however, they become reticulate and lose their transverse arrangement. Finally, in the smallest mediae, the head and pronotum become very smooth and shining, with traces of the rugae only on the cheeks; the epinotal teeth are directed backward and the postpetiole is as long as broad. The whole body becomes yellow, except the borders of the clypeus and mandibles, but the head and thorax are more reddish yellow than the abdomen and appendages.

Minima Length 1.8 mm.

Head slightly longer than broad and slightly narrower in front than behind, with feebly concave posterior border. Eyes very small, consisting of only one or two facets. Mandibles narrow, with oblique, 4-toothed blades. Antennal scapes reaching to the posterior border of the head. Promesonotum convex and rounded in profile; mesoepinotal constriction pronounced but rather short; base of epinotum convex, longer than the declivity; spines slender, directed backward, less than half as long as the base. Petiole small and narrow; postpetiole globular, somewhat broader than the petiole.

Smooth and shining; mandibles more opaque, finely striate; meso- and epinotum finely and densely punctate.

Hairs long and sparse, erect on the dorsal surface of the body and partly so on the legs and scapes.

Yellow; head and thorax somewhat darker; borders of mandibles and clypeus brown.

Type Material
Described from numerous specimens taken by Dr. F. X. Williams at Los Banos (type-locality) and by Dr. R. C. Me Gregor at Paete, Laguna, Luzon Island and on the Island of Samar, Philippines.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Ettershank G. 1966. A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Aust. J. Zool. 14: 73-171.
 * Figueras G. S., and O. M. Nuneza. 2013. Species diversity of ants in karst limestone habitats in Bukidnon and Davao Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines. Advances in Environmental Sciences - International Journal of the Bioflux Society 5(3): 306-315.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1929. Ants collected by Professor F. Silvestri in Formosa, the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 24: 27-64.