Crematogaster steinheili

This ant can be quite common and abundant in favored habitats within its range.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Greater Antilles, Haiti, Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands.

Biology
San Cristóbal, República Dominicana. Video by Judá Isaí Martínez Uribe.

This species was recorded as being common by Wheeler (1908) and Menozzi and Russo (1930). Like many Crematogaster species it appears to thrive in habitats that contains wood and plants that it can use to create nest cavities, e.g., under the bark of live or dead trees, in hollowed out plant cavities and underneath downed wood.

Bahamas
Wheeler (1905): Numerous colonies containing males and winged females were found nesting in hollow twigs, and especially in the Tillandsias growing on the mangroves and other shrubs in the 'swashes' of Andros. These colonies were particularly abundant on Big Wood Key (May 16), Pot Key, and other keys along the course of the Southern Bight (May 18 and 19). A few specimens were also taken at West Bay on New Providence Island.

Puerto Rico
Wheeler (1908): Common; nesting in Tillandsias, under bark or in the hollow twigs of various trees. This variety, which seems to be widely distributed through the West Indies, is closely related to the missouriensis Pergande which ranges as far north as Missouri. In one locality in Culebra colonies of steinheili were found to have constructed "sheds" or "tents" of fine vegetable debris over coccids, both on the upper and lower surfaces of the large shining leaves of a tree (Cordia macrophylla). These sheds were small, flattened or conical structures each covering only one or a few coccids.

Nomenclature

 * . Crematogaster steinheili Forel, 1881: 15 (w.) VIRGIN IS (St Thomas I.).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Virgin Is: St Thomas I., nr cemetary, 11-16.x.1878 (A. Forel).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Forel, 1912f: 216 (q.m.); Menozzi & Russo, 1930: 154 (q.m.).
 * Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Emery, 1922e: 136.
 * Junior synonym of victima: Mayr, 1887: 624.
 * Subspecies of victima: Emery, in Dalla Torre, 1893: 87; Emery, 1895c: 288 (footnote); Wheeler, W.M. 1905b: 96, 126; Wheeler, W.M. 1908a: 132; Wheeler, W.M. 1908b: 161; Wheeler, W.M. 1911a: 28; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1914: 21.
 * Status as species: Forel, 1912f: 216; Wheeler, W.M. 1917g: 460; Emery, 1922e: 136; Wheeler, W.M. 1923c: 5; Santschi, 1929f: 88; Menozzi & Russo, 1930: 154; Gallardo, 1934: 45; Wheeler, W.M. 1936b: 199; Smith, M.R. 1937: 845; Wheeler, W.M. 1937b: 449; Smith, M.R. 1954c: 5; Kempf, 1972a: 89; Alayo, 1974: 13 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 163; Wetterer, et al. 2016: 23; Lubertazzi, 2019: 106.
 * Distribution: Bahamas, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico (+ Culebra), Virgin Is.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus argentina.

Worker
L. 2,1 bis 2,5 mm. Fühlerkoule zweigliedrig. Dornen des Metanotum mittellang, gerade, etwas divergirend, schief nach oben und hinten gerichtet. Erstes Stielehenglied, von oben gesehen, viereckig, kaum etwas länger als breit und kaum etwas breiter hinten als vorne; hinten oben mit einem mässig scharfen queren Rande, der seitlich in zwei stumpfen Höckern endigt, vorne unten mit einem Zahne in der Mitte, Zweites Stielchenglied oben in der Mitte eingedrückt, ohne Längsfurche.

Mandibeln gestreift. Clypeus mit einigen Längsrunzeln. Occiput und Kopfseiten stellenweise äusserst seicht und fein genetzt. Wangen fein und dicht genetzt, wenig glänzend. Stirne und Vertex glatt und glänzend. Thorax und Stielchen mehr oder weniger regelmässig genetzt. Metanotum zwischen den Dornen matt; sehr regelmässig, dicht und ziemlich grob punktirt-genetzt. Pronotum mit einigen sehr groben Längsrunzeln; die beiden äussersten derselben bilden zwei Seitenkiele, die sich auf Meso- und Metanotum fortsetzen; die meso-metanotale Einschnürung leistenartig überbrücken und in die Dornen endigen. Abdomen glatt und glänzend. Beine glatt.

Der ganze Körper nicht sehr reichlich abstehend beberstet, ungemein fein, kurz und sehr spärlich pubescent. Fühlerschäfte und Beine mit einer mässig langen, sehr feinen, schief abstehenden Behaarung, die an den Fühlerschäften ziemlich reichlich ist.

Röthlichgelb, Beine etwas heller. Erstes Hinterleibssegens röthlich gelbbraun oder braungelb, häufig hinten dunkler. Die übriges Segmente braun.

Queen
Menozzi (1930) - Colorazione, pubescenza e pilosità come nell'operaia. Liscia e lucida eccetto i lati del capo, davanti agli occhi, e le fossette antennali che sono striate. Palpi mascellari di cinque articoli e labiali di tre, come nell'operaia.

Capo poco più lungo che largo, coi lati dritti e cogli angoli occipitali arrotondati. Mandibole striate e armate di quattro denti. Clipeo posteriormente convesso nella porzione compresa fra le lamine frontali. Antenne con articoli proporzionalmente più allungati che non quelli dell'operaia. Occhi grandi, lo spazio che rimane anteriormente e posteriormente ad essi e più corto che la lunghezza del loro diametro. Occelli grandi, collocati rispettivamente entro a una piccola fossetta.

Torace un poco più stretto del capo. Promesonoto convesso da un lato all' altro e colla massima larghezza nel mezzo. Scudetto al medesimo livello dello scudo del promesonoto. Epinoto convesso, fornito di due spine a sezione conica e più brevi di una metà dello spazio esistente internamente fra le loro basi. Peziolo subquadrato, cogli angoli posteriori aguzzi e sporgenti a forma di due denticini; postpeziolo un po' più largo del peziolo e globoso. Gastro colla base subtroncata. Ali ialine con nervature testacee.

Lunghezza mm. 5-5,5

Male
Menozzi (1930) - Statura un po' più piccola di quella dell' operaia; di colore giallo testaceo, con le antenne e le zampe bianco giallastre. Liscio e lucente; pilosità molto sparsa. Il capo è così largo che lungo, coll' occipite arrotondato. Gli ocelli sono grandi, occupando quasi tutti i lati del capo. Le mandibole hanno un solo piccolo denticino. Il clipeo è stretto e leggermente convesso nel mezzo. Antenne di 12 articoli; lo scapo è appena più lungo del primo articolo del funicolo che è di forma subglobosa, articoli 2-5 trasversi, gli altri gradatamente allungati. Promesonoto fortemente convesso. Scudetto piccolo e un po' più basso dello scudo promesonotale. Nodo del peziolo più largo che lungo; postpeziolo colla massima larghezza posteriormente e coi lati arrotondati. Ali come nella femmina.

Lunghezza mm. 2,3.

Type Material
Collected in 1887 from the loose bark of a tree along the road near the St. Thomas cemetery.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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