Yavnella argamani

The type material, all males and the only known specimens, were collected at lights and by sweeping of vegetation.

Identification
Kigler (1987) - Yavnella argamani n. sp. is similar to Noonilla copiosa, differing by the characters used to separate the two genera (see Yavnella ). It can be separated from its only congener, Yavnella indica, by details given on the Y. indica webpage.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Israel.

Castes
Known only from the male caste.

Nomenclature

 *  argamani. Yavnella argamani Kugler, J. 1987: 53, figs. 14-18 (m.) ISRAEL.

Male
Length: 1.7-2.5 mm.

Colour: Head, alitrunk, petiole, gaster and femur dark brownish-black, very shiny; antennae brown; tibiae and tarsi light brownish-yellow; genitalia yellow.

Head: Vertical, with large bulge on vertex, with eyes 1.4 times as wide as long; eyes bare, oval, very large, very convex, large diameter 0.75 times as long as head; ocelli large, anterior ocellus situated on anterior side of bulge of vertex and posterior ocelli situated on lateral sides of bulge of vertex; antennae long, scapus short less than twice as long as wide; 1st funicular segment very short, only slightly longer than wide; all other funicular segments more than 3 times as long as wide, the second the longest; clypeus convex with nearly straight anterior border; mandibles short (0.07 mm), tapering apically, anteriorly with spoon-like excavation which opens laterally at inner side near base of mandibles. Maxillae and labium short, maxillar and labial palps with 1 segment each.

Alitrunk: Two and a half times as long as greatest width. In dorsal view pronotum almost entirely covered by bulging mesonotum, scutellum triangular, separated by a furrow from scutum; basal part of propodeum dorsally concave; dorsal margin 2.5 times as long as distal descending margin.

Legs: Very long, increasing in size from fore to hind legs; fore femur straight, only 1.1 0 times thicker than mid and hind femora; fore tibia with 1 spur, mid and hind tibiae each with 2 spurs.

Petiole: Slightly longer than wide, widest at posterior margin, anteriorly with a very small stalk, posteriorly as wide as anterior margin of gaster, slightly bulging above it.

Gaster: Long, oval, slightly depressed dorsoventrally and curved; in dorsal view with 6 visible tergites, the last covering the anterior part of the genitalia,in ventral view with 5 visible stemites, last sternite covers the gonobase and subgenital plate.

Genitalia: Gonobase membraneous; subgenital plate a narrow, sclerotized, dark brown band, fused with gonobase. Gonocoxites separated dorsally and ventrally; each gonocoxite forming a leaf-like structure with not well separated gonostylus. Volsella dorsally covered by united gonapophyses, volsellar plate connected to inner base of gonocoxite, volsellar cuspis rudimental, volsellar digitus long, curved, pointed at its tip with thin, elongate, finger-like, ventral projection at base. Gonapophyses united into large shield-like, dorsally convex structure, narrowing posteriorly, separating distal of genital opening into 2 pointed lobes.

Type Material
Holotype male, Israel, Yavne, 20.X.1981 in light, inside a room. Paratypes, 15 males, same locality 29.VIII-5.x.1982, 3 males, same locality (but during daytime and by sweeping plants), 6.x.1982, J. Kugler; 20 males Shluchot (Jordan valley) 26.V1.1984 (by light trap). The holotype and most paratypes are deposited in the Zoological Museum of the TAU, 2 paratypes are preserved in the, 2 in the , 1 in the , and 1 in the collection of Dr. Q. Argaman.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Boudinot B. E. 2015. Contributions to the knowledge of Formicidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata): a new diagnosis of the family, the first global male-based key to subfamilies, and a treatment of early branching lineages. European Journal of Taxonomy 120: 1-62.
 * Kugler J. 1987. The Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Israel and a description of a new species from India. Israel Journal of Entomology 20: 45-57.
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.