Odontomachus insularis

The last taxonomic revision of Odontomachus (Brown 1976) revealed a tangle of names, subspecies and varieties for this and numerous allied forms. Odontomachus insularis is known to occur in the Greater Antilles and the Bahamas. Its presence in other areas is tenuous pending a more thorough taxonomic revision.

Identification
Brown (1976) - O. insularis has cephalic striation so fine that Guerin could not see it when he wrote the original description, and it has a sericeous look at lower magnifications. The male is black or piceous in color, with a brown gaster, and the worker has palpal segmentation 4, 3. In addition to the many records of insularis from Cuba (type locality) and the Bahamas, I have seen a single worker labeled as from Diquini, Haiti (W. M. Mann).

Odontomachus clarus is a very closely related species replacing insularis on the continent, where it ranges from Central Texas and southern Arizona southward in Mexico at least to Mexico City and the state of Guerrero, apparently mainly in arid and semiarid areas on the Mexican Plateau and in the cordilleras. Although it is more variable in size and color, clarus is like insularis, and it also shares with insularis the dark-colored male and 4, 3 palpal segmentation. In fact, the only reliable worker character I can find to separate the two is the different development of the acute apex of the petiolar node. In insularis, the node narrows fairly abruptly (in side view) to a long, thin, backcurved spine, which may occupy a quarter or more of the total height of the node. In O. clarus, the node as seen from the side tapers rapidly to a much shorter spine, which often is not really a spine at all, but simply a sharp conical apex.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Greater Antilles, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.

It is also found in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and Grenada (but see above concerning this ant's taxonomy and distribution).

Nomenclature

 *  insularis. Odontomachus insularis Guérin-Méneville, 1844a: 423 (w.m.) CUBA. Forel, 1897b: 298 (q.). Subspecies of haematodus: Emery, 1890b: 44 (footnote); Smith, M.R. 1939d: 127. Revived status as species: Taylor & Wilson, 1962: 142. Material of the unavailable names pallens, wheeleri referred here by Brown, 1976a: 104.

Brown (1976) - Odontomachus insularis, as determined from the type worker, here designated as lectotype, in Paris, and confirmed by the original description, is the reddish form with yellowish appendages and dark (piceous or black) gaster, common and widespread in Cuba and the Bahamas. So far as I have been able to determine from actual specimens, the true insularis does not occur on the continent of North America or in the Florida Keys, although it would not be surprising to find it somewhere in Florida. The varieties pallens and wheeleri are just the ordinary insularis, judging from their types. In var. wheeleri, the dorsum of the propodeum and the petiole are perhaps more yellowish than usual, but this condition is approached by occasional workers in other nest series. Wheeler described pallens, apparently, while thinking the dark Cuban species, here referred to as O. brunneus, was insularis.

Type Material
Brown (1976) designated a specimen in the as the lectotype.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Alayo D. P. 1974. Introduccion al estudio de los Himenopteros de Cuba. Superfamilia Formicoidea. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Zoologia. Serie Biologica no.53: 58 pp. La Habana.
 * Borgmeier T. 1923. Catalogo systematico e synonymico das formigas do Brasil. 1 parte. Subfam. Dorylinae, Cerapachyinae, Ponerinae, Dolichoderinae. Archivos do Museu Nacional (Rio de Janeiro) 24: 33-103.
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1976. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section A. Introduction, subtribal characters. Genus Odontomachus. Stud. Entomol. 19: 67-171.
 * CSIRO Collection
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Deyrup M., L. Davis, and S. Buckner. 1998. Composition of the ant fauna of three Bahamian islands. Proceedings of the seventh symposium on the natural history of the Bahamas. 23-32. Bahamian Field Station, San Salvador, Bahamas
 * Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
 * Fernandez Triana J. L., H. Sariol, M. A. Vega Castillo, S. Ricardo, M. Gonzalez, and E. P. Ferrer. 2002. Datos preliminares dobre la biodiversidad del orden Hymenoptera en la provincia Granma, Cuba. Bol. S.E.A. 31: 43-48.
 * Fernández F., and T. M. Arias-Penna. 2008. Las hormigas cazadoras en la región Neotropical. Pp. 3-39 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Fernández Triana J. L., J. L. Fontenla, E. Portuondo Ferrer, and J. A. Genaro. 2005. Especies de himenópteros registrados en el Parque Nacional La Bayamesa, Cuba, 17-22 de junio del 2003 y 2-10 de febrero del 2004. In Maceira F., D., A.Fong G., W. S. Alverson, y/and T. Wachter, eds. 2005. Cuba: Parque Nacional La Bayamesa. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 13. The Field Museum, Chicago.
 * Fontanla Rizo J.L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba. Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
 * Fontenla J. L. 2005. Species of ants (Formicidae) recorded during the rapid biological inventory of the Zapata Peninsula, 8-15 September 2002. In: Kirkconnell P., A., D. F. Stotz, y / and J. M. Shopland, eds. 2005. Cuba: Península de Zapata. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 07. The Field Museum, Chicago
 * Fontenla J. L. 2005. Species of ants (Formicidae) recorded in the Sierra de Cubitas and adjacent areas, Camagüey Province, 16-19 September 2002. In: Díaz, L., M., W. S. Alverson, A. Barreto V., y / and T. Wachter. 2006. Cuba: Camagüey, Sierra de Cubitas. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 08. The Field Museum, Chicago
 * Fontenla J. L., and J. Alfonso-Simonetti. 2018. Classification of Cuban ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) into functional groups. Poeyana Revista Cubana de Zoologia 506: 21-30.
 * Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
 * Forel A. 1897. Quelques Formicides de l'Antille de Grenada récoltés par M. H. H. Smith. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1897: 297-300.
 * Forel A. 1910. Formicides australiens reçus de MM. Froggatt et Rowland Turner. Rev. Suisse Zool. 18: 1-94
 * Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part I. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 56: 28-49.
 * Frago E., E. Portuondo Ferrer, J. L. Fernandez Triana, O. Sariego, and J. G. Fonseca. 2010. Entomofauna del Parque Nacional 'Desembarco del Granma", Cuba Suroriental. Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa 46: 355-362.
 * Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
 * Galkowski C. 2016. New data on the ants from the Guadeloupe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 151, 44(1): 25-36.
 * Jaffe, Klaus and Lattke, John. 1994. Ant Fauna of the French and Venezuelan Islands in the Caribbean in Exotic Ants, editor D.F. Williams. 182-190.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Luederwaldt H. 1918. Notas myrmecologicas. Rev. Mus. Paul. 10: 29-64.
 * Menozzi C, Russo G. 1930. Contributo alla conoscenza della mirmecofauna della Repubblica Dominicana (Antille). Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici. 24: 148-173.
 * Michigan State University, The Albert J. Cook Arthropod Research Collection. Accessed on January 7th 2014 at http://www.arc.ent.msu.edu:8080/collection/index.jsp
 * Morrison L. W. 1998. A review of Bahamian ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) biogeography. Journal of Biogeography 25: 561-571.
 * Perez-Gelabert D. E. 2008. Arthropods of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti): A checklist and bibliography. Zootaxa 1831:1-530.
 * Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2002. Mirmecofauna de los macizos montañosos de Sierra Maestra y Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa. Cocuyo 12: 10-13
 * Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2006. Species of Hymenoptera recorded in the Reserva Ecológica Pico Mogote, Santiago de Cuba Province, 20-25 September 2002. In: Maceira F., D., A. Fong G., y/and W. S. Alverson, eds. 2006. Cuba: Pico Mogote. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 09. The Field Museum, Chicago.
 * Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2006. Species of hymenopterans recorded in Siboney-Juticí Ecological Reserve, Santiago de Cuba Province, compiled from collections during the rapid inventory of 27-28 September 2002. Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y / and J. M. Shopland, eds. 2005. Cuba: Siboney-Juticí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 10. The Field Museum, Chicago.
 * Portuondo Ferrer, E. and J. Fernandez Triana. Biodiversidad del orden Hymenoptera en Los Macizos Montanosos de Cuba Oriental. Boletin S.E.A. 35:121-136.
 * Reyes, J. L. "Inventario de la colección de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba." Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa 36 (2005): 279-283.
 * Smith M. R. 1939. A study of the subspecies of Odontomachus haematoda (L.) of the United States (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the New York Entomological Society 47: 125-130.
 * Smith, Marion R. 1954. American Museum Novitates. Ants of the Bimini Island Group, Bahamas, British West Indies (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). 1671:1-16
 * Taylor R.W., and E.O. Wilson. 1961. Ants from three remote oceanic islands. Psyche 68(4): 137-144.
 * Taylor RW, Wilson EO. 1961. Ants from three remote oceanic islands.Psyche 68:134-141.
 * Van Pelt A. F. 1948. A Preliminary Key to the Worker Ants of Alachua County, Florida. The Florida Entomologist 30(4): 57-67
 * Weber N. A. 1938. The food of the giant toad, Bufo marinus (L.), in Trinidad and British Guiana with special reference to the ants. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 31: 499-503.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1913. Ants collected in Georgia by Dr. J. C. Bradley and Mr. W. T. Davis. Psyche (Cambridge) 20: 112-117.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1913. The ants of Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 54: 477-505.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1917. Jamaican ants collected by Prof. C. T. Brues. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 61: 457-471.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1919. Expedition of the California Academy of Sciences to the Galapagos Islands, 1905-1906. XV. The ants of Cocos Island. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences (4)2(2): 299-308.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1932. A list of the ants of Florida with descriptions of new forms. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 40: 1-17.
 * Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1914. The ants of Haiti. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 33: 1-61.
 * Wheeler W.M. 1935. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 11(11):1-56.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1906. The Ants of the Bermudas. Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. 22:347-352.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1911. Ants Collected in Grenada, W.I. by Mr. C. T. Brues. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard College. 54(5):166-172.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1916. Ants Collected in Trinidad by Professor Roland Thaxter, Mr. F. W. Urich, and Others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard University. 40(8):322-330
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1934. Ants From The Islands Off The West Coast Of Lower California and Mexico. The Pan-Pacific Entomologist. 10(3):131-144.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1934. Some Ants From The Bahama Islands. Psyche. 41(4):230-232.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1936. Ants From Hispaniola and Mona Island. Bulletin: Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 80(2):192-211.