Dolichoderus sulcaticeps

Viehmeyer 1916: 141-142 Singapore: carton nests containing brood and scale insects on the undersurface of leaves; Karawajew 1926: 428-430[Java: large colonies, nests built out of soil on the ground or on rocks, many queens; Franz 1975b: 265 Java: nests in soil; Rohe 1990, 1991 Peninsular Malaysia: multi-chambered nest pavilions made of tough carton material on the undersurface of leaves; data on nest construction; trophobiotic partners (pseudococcids, aphids, membracids) kept inside and outside nest pavilions; Dill (2002) – personal observations (Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo): very large colonies with extremely long trail systems (e.g. length of a single trail > 130 m), multi-chambered, pavilion nests on leaves of different plant species; many alate queens inside pavilions; different species of trophobiotic partners (Pseudococcidae: Cataenococcus hispidus (Morrison), Pseudococcus cryptus Hempel, Rastrococcus vicorum Williams; Margarodidae: Crypticerya sp. ; Coccidae: Drepanococcus sp.; Aphidoidea; Membracidae: Ebhul varius (Walker), Centroyypus sp.) kept in side and outs ide the pavilions; transport of these trophobionts between pavilions, also over large distances; collecting bird feces.

Identification
Dill (2002) - A member of the Dolichoderus sulcaticeps species group. The typical D. sulcaticeps is strongly shining, its entire body surface smooth or very finely reticulate, sometimes with a very fine, scattered punctation; only mesopleuron and the sides of the propodeum are slightly coarser wrinkled. The entire body is black, often except the tip of the gaster which is yellow or red in these cases. The expansion of this reddish coloration is highly variable, ranging from an entirely black to an entirely reddish gaster. The pubescense is very sparse.

D. sulcaticeps seems to be relatively well defined. The morphologically nearest species is Dolichoderus siggii, which seems to differ in its coloration and the shape of its petiolar scale.

The type material of D. nigriventris (= D. sulcaticeps) differs from the type of the species in a slightly more distinctly developed frontal furrow, a shallowly emarginate petioles scale, and the black colour of the entire gaster. All of these characters are subject to considerable intraspecific variation.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore. Oriental Region: Thailand, Vietnam.

Nomenclature

 *  sulcaticeps. Hypoclinea sulcaticeps Mayr, 1870b: 957 (diagnosis in key) (w.) BORNEO. Viehmeyer, 1916a: 141 (q.m.); Karavaiev, 1926d: 428 (q.m.). Combination in Dolichoderus: Emery, 1887a: 254; in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1894c: 229. See also: Bingham, 1903: 293. Senior synonym of nigriventris: Dill, 2002: 60.
 * nigriventris. Dolichoderus (Hypoclinea) sulcaticeps var. nigriventris Santschi, 1920h: 171 (w.) VIETNAM. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of nigriventris Forel, above.] [Also described as new by Santschi, 1924c: 111.] Junior synonym of sulcaticeps: Dill, 2002: 60.

Type Material
Dill (2002) - Workers, Borneo: Sarawak (Doira) [description in key]. Syntypes.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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