Pheidole sykesii

A large species occurring in India, Pheidole sykesii throws up concentric embankments round the entrance to the nest (see image below); the extent of these earthworks varies according to the circumstances, from a mere single tube, less than 25mm high in flat dry country, to half-a-dozen concentric rings, the centre tube 75mm and more high, each ring decreasing in height, and the outside ring 450mm in diameter. Moreover, when the nest is on a slope, the up-hill half of a ring is always considerably higher than the other. Pheidole wroughtonii and Pheidole latinoda also build these earthworks, but they are always rudimentary compared with those of P. sykesii (Wroughton, 1892).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India.

Biology


The nest entrance of P. sykesii, in the hills approximately 30 km northwest of Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Nomenclature

 *  sykesii. Pheidole sykesii Forel, 1902c: 173 (s.), 190 (w.q.m.) INDIA. [Also described as new by Forel, 1902f: 541.]