Wasmannia auropunctata
EOL Text
Taxonomic history
| Wheeler & Wheeler, 1954d PDF: 444 (l.). |
| Combination in Ochetomyrmex: Forel, 1886b PDF: xlix; in Wasmannia: Forel, 1893j PDF: 383. |
| Senior synonym of Wasmannia atomum: Wheeler, 1922: 912; of Wasmannia glabra: Kempf, 1964e PDF: 66; of Wasmannia panamana: Brown, 1948d: 102; of Wasmannia australis, Wasmannia laevifrons, Wasmannia nigricans, Wasmannia obscura, Wasmannia pulla, Wasmannia rugosa: Longino & Fernández, 2007: 276. |
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The electric ant, also known as the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata, is a small (approx 1.5 mm long), light to golden brown (ginger) social ant native to Central and South America, now spread to parts of Africa (including Gabon and Cameroon), North America, Puerto Rico,[2]Israel,[3][4] and six Pacific Island groups (including the Galápagos Islands, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands) plus north-eastern Australia (Cairns),[5][6]
The name, electric ant (or little fire ant) derives from the ant's painful sting relative to its size.[7] This ant's impact in those environments and countries outside of its place of origin has been described as follows:[6]
Wasmannia auropunctata .. is blamed for reducing species diversity, reducing overall abundance of flying and tree-dwelling insects, and eliminating arachnid populations. It is also known for its painful stings. On the Galápagos, it eats the hatchlings of tortoises and attacks the eyes and cloacae of the adult tortoises. It is considered to be perhaps the greatest ant species threat in the Pacific region.
Description[edit]
The ant is described as follows:[6]
"..Wasmannia auropunctata workers are monomorphic, which means they display no physical differentiation... The ants are typically small to medium-sized, with the workers ranging from 1-2mm ... [It] is light to golden brown in color. The gaster is often darker. The pedicel, between the thorax and gaster, has two segments; the petiole and postpetiole. The petiole is "hatchet-like", with a node that is almost rectangular in profile and higher than the postpetiole. The antennae have 11 segments, with the last two segments greatly enlarged into a distinct club. The antennal scape (the first segment) is received into a distinct groove (scrobe) that extends almost to the posterior border of the head. The thorax has long and sharp epinotal spines. The body is sparsely covered with long, erect hairs. This species is well-known for a painful sting, seemingly out of proportion to its size."
In, Wasmannia auropunctata, queens produce more queens through ameiotic parthenogenesis. Sterile workers usually are produced from eggs fertilized by males. In some of the eggs fertilized by males, however, the fertilization can cause the female genetic material to be ablated from the zygote. In this way, males pass on only their genes to become fertile male offspring. This is the first recognized example of an animal species where both females and males can reproduce clonally resulting in a complete separation of male and female gene pools.[8][9]
These ants get the benefits of both asexual and sexual reproduction[8][10] - the daughters who can reproduce (the queens) have all of the mother's genes, while the sterile workers whose physical strength and disease resistance are important are produced sexually. There is a strong suspicion of a link between Florida keratopathy or Tropical keratopathy and presence of W. auropunctata.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "Wasmannia auropunctata". Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- ^ http://www.fs.fed.us/r8/caribbean/wildlife-facts/2010/wildlife-facts-may-2010.shtml
- ^ Vonshak, Merav; T. Dayan; A. Ionescu-Hirsch; A. Freidberg; A. Hefetz (2010). "The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata: a new invasive species in the Middle East and its impact on the local arthropod fauna". Biological Invasions 12: 1825–1837. doi:10.1007/s10530-009-9593-2.
- ^ Foucaud, Julien; et al (2010). "Worldwide invasion by the little fire ant: routes of introduction and eco-evolutionary pathways". Evolutionary Applications 3: 363–374. doi:10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00119.x.
- ^ Electric ant (Wasmannia auropunctata) webpage Accessed 7 March 2009
- ^ a b c Global Invasive Species Database - No. 100 - Wasmannia auropunctata
- ^ Queensland Government Electric Ant: Warning Accessed 7 March 2009
- ^ a b Fournier, Denis; Estoup, Arnaud; Orivel, Jérôme; Foucaud, Julien; Jourdan, Hervé; Breton, Julien Le; Keller, Laurent (2005). "Clonal reproduction by males and females in the little fire ant". Nature 435 (7046): 1230–4. doi:10.1038/nature03705. PMID 15988525.
- ^ Queller, David (2005). "Evolutionary Biology: Males from Mars". Nature 435 (7046): 1167–8. doi:10.1038/4351167a.
- ^ Pearcy, M.; Aron, S; Doums, C; Keller, L (2004). "Conditional Use of Sex and Parthenogenesis for Worker and Queen Production in Ants". Science 306 (5702): 1780–3. doi:10.1126/science.1105453. PMID 15576621.
- ^ Theron, Leonard (2005). "Wasmannia auropunctata linked keratopathy Hypothesis - The Polynesian Case". Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine Master. hdl:2268/652. Missing or empty
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Taxonomic comments
Workers of W. auropunctata have a strongly quadrate petiolar node. The anterior face of the node is sharply differentiated from both the peduncle and the dorsal face of the node, meeting both at nearly right angles, and forming a strongly step-like profile. This is a highly distinctive feature that easily distinguishes auropunctata workers from all other Wasmannia species. Within the species there is abundant variation in the strength of sculpturing and coloration, and this has engendered the naming of nine infraspecific forms in addition to the nominotypical. We have never been able to discover evidence of discrete forms among the workers of auropunctata , either in sympatry or allopatry; the variation appears continuous. Three of the forms have already been synonymized by others: atomum , glabra , and panamana . We have been able to examine types of three additional forms — obscura , pulla , and rugosa — and they fall well within our concept of auropunctata . The remaining forms — australis , laevifrons , nigricans — we have not examined, but the published descriptions give no indication that they are beyond the range of variation of auropunctata . We have synonymized them, following the philosophy that taxa should be synonymized unless evidence of distinctness is obtained.
The above synonymy does not assure that there is no genetic structuring, and perhaps species-level differences, within the broad concept of auropunctata . There may even be distinct sympatric species. In Costa Rica, there appear to be two size classes of queens (Fig. 2). Queens with smaller heads include ten from various sites in Costa Rica, including La Selva Biological Station and the Penas Blancas Valley, one from Jamaica, and one from Venezuela. Queens with large heads are all from the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica. Three are from La Selva (two from different Winkler samples of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor, one from a small nest under an epiphyte mat in an old treefall) and one is an alate queen found in a Cecropia sapling near Volcan Arenal. Thus the small-headed and big-headed forms are broadly sympatric in Costa Rica. Among the small-headed queens four are definitively associated with workers from the same colony, and among the big-headed queens one is associated with workers. Others have workers doubtfully associated (together in the same Winkler sample). We can discern no differences in workers associated with the two types of queens. The cause of the two size classes of queens is unknown, but could reflect either differences between cryptic species or intraspecific polymorphism.
An aberrant worker form is frequently encountered in large samples of W. auropunctata . These aberrant workers have the head grossly swollen. The entire head is more spherical than normal, as if the head were inflated like a balloon. The rest of the body is little different from a normal worker. These aberrant workers are occasionally encountered in Winkler samples that contain hundreds or thousands of auropunctata workers.
Natural History
Wasmannia auropunctata is a widespread pest ant (Clark et al., 1982; De Souza et al., 1998; Fabres & Brown, 1978; Jourdan, 1997; Lubin, 1984; Ulloa Chacon & Cherix, 1990; Williams, 1994; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). In its presumed native range it occurs from Argentina to Mexico (Kempf, 1972; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). Its introduced range includes the Galapagos Islands, West Africa (Gabon, Cameroon, and possibly the Republic of Congo and the Democratic RepubIic of Congo), Melanesia (New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and possibly Tuvalu), Polynesia (Wallis and Futuna and Hawaii), parts of the US (Florida and possibly California), and subtropical Atlantic islands (the Bahamas and Bermuda) (Wetterer & Porter, 2003). It is widespread on Caribbean islands, but it is unclear whether these are long-term native populations or recent introductions (Wetterer & Porter, 2003).
The species is remarkably catholic in its habitat preference. It is common in habitats ranging from wet to dry and from early successional to mature. In an elevational gradient of mature wet forest on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica (the Barva Transect, from La Selva Biological Station to 2000 m elevation on the slope of Volcan Barva) it is abundant at 50 m and 500 m elevations, but nearly absent at 1070 m (Table 2). In the lowland habitats where it is abundant, it occurs in leaf litter on the forest floor and at all levels in the vegetation.
Although it occurs frequently in samples from mature forest habitats in Costa Rica, it is never so abundant in those habitats that it is noticeable as a pest or appears to be displacing other native species (Tennant, 1994; McGlynn & Kirksey, 2000; pers. obs.). In contrast, in certain agricultural habitats (banana plantations) and in parts of the tropics where it has been introduced it becomes super-abundant, with negative impacts on native species and human comfort (Clark et al., 1982; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). In dry-forest fragments in Colombia there is a negative correlation between W. auropunctata abundance and overall ant diversity (Armbrecht & Ulloa Chacon, 2003). Where introduced in New Caledonia it invades dense native forest and displaces native ants (Le Breton et al., 2003). Behavioral tests and cuticular hydrocarbon analysis show that W. auropunctata is multicolonial in its native range in Brazil, unicolonial where introduced in New Caledonia (Errard et al., 2002).
The sting of Wasmannia is noteworthy. These are extremely tiny ants, barely visible in the field. When the senior author first began studying ants in Costa Rica, he was at first puzzled about Wasmannia . By literature accounts Wasmannia was reputed to have a terrible sting, but he had been collecting them for months in Corcovado National Park without ever experiencing the famous sting. One day he was collecting from a populous nest and some workers made it up to the soft skin of his inner forearm and began to sting. The sting was definitely noticeable, about as severe as a fire ant (i. e., Solenopsis geminata ) but inordinately strong for an ant that could barely be seen! Workers are so small they cannot sting through the thicker skin of the hands.
Surprisingly, the chemical and toxicological nature of the venom of W. auropunctata has not been investigated. Howard et al. (1982) discovered an alkylpyrazine compound in the mandibular glands, which acted as an attractant to conspecifics and a repellent to heterospecifics. They speculated that the workers might apply the mandibular gland product as an irritating secretion, augmenting the defensive properties of the venomous sting. It would be interesting to investigate whether the venom alone is the powerful agent in this small ant, or if the strong burning sensation is a synergetic effect of venom plus mandibular gland product.
Nests can be almost anywhere: in rolled leaves or dead sticks in the leaf litter, under stones, in rotten wood, in hollow stems suspended above the ground, in ant-plant domatia, and under epiphytes. Workers are omnivorous scavengers and predators and can rapidly recruit to food. Colonies are polygynous and it is never clear where colony boundaries are. Dozens of dealate queens may be found together in nests. Males are rare but do occasionally occur.
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Wasmannia auropunctata, commonly known as the Little Fire Ant, is a small pale colored ant that is widely regarded as one of the most harmful introduced ant species in the world. This species has a monomorphic worker caste with 11-segmented antennae, two-segmented antennal club, antennal scrobes, short antennal scapes that do not surpass the posterior margin of the head, a gradually sloped mesosoma, and strong propodeal spines. Like all myrmicines, W. auropunctata has two waist segments and a gaster armed with a stinger.
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Diagnosis of worker among Antkey species. Worker caste monomorphic. Head shape roughly ovoid. Antenna 11-segmented. Antennal club 2-segmented. Antennal insertions at least partly covered by frontal lobes;. Antennal scapes not conspicuously short; easily extended beyond eye level; do not extend beyond posterior margin of head. Antennal scrobe present. Eyes medium to large (greater than 5 facets); distinctly less than half head length). Posterolateral corners of head unarmed, without spines. Frontal lobes do not obscure face outline between mandible and eye. Mandibles triangular. Mesosoma with erect hairs. Pronotal spines absent. Propodeum armed with spines or teeth. Slope of mesosoma gradual. Waist 2-segmented. Petiole with a distinct and upright node; pedunculate; lacking large subpetiolar process. Postpetiole attached to lower surface of gaster.
Wasmannia auropunctata is most commonly confused with small yellow species of Tetramorium, such as T. caldarium and T. simillimum. It can be distinguished by the following characters: (1) Antenna 11-segmented (versus 12-segmented); (2) antennal club 2-segmented (versus 3-segmented); (3) propodeal armed with long and robust spines (versus small triangular dents); (4) raised sharp-edged ridge not surrounding antennal insertions (versus present). Additionally, the petiole and petiolar peduncle are shaped differently in W. auropunctata.
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Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger) HNS
Fig. 1, Table 1
Tetramorium HNS auropunctatum Roger, 1863: 182. Syntype worker, queen, male: Cuba (not examined). Combination in Ochetomyrmex HNS : Forel, 1886; in Wasmannia HNS : Forel, 1893.
Description of larva: Wheeler, G. C. & Wheeler, J., 1954: 444.
Ochetomyrmex auropunctatus var. rugosus Forel HNS , 1886: xlix. Syntype worker: Guatemala, Retalhuleu ( Stoll ) [ MHNG ] (examined). Combination in Wasmannia HNS : Forel, 1901: 128 .
Description of queen, male: Santschi, 1929: 299. NEW SYNONYMY.
Wasmannia auropunctata var. australis Emery HNS , 1894: 193. Syntype worker: Brazil , Rio Grande do Sul (v. Ihering ). NEW SYNONYMY .
Wasmannia auropunctata var. laevifrons Emery HNS , 1894: 193. Syntype worker: Bolivia, Coroico, Chulumani Yungas (Balzan). NEW SYNONYMY.
Wasmannia auropunctata var. nigricans Emery HNS , 1906: 160. Syntype worker: Paraguay, Tacuru Pucu. NEW SYNONYMY.
Wasmannia auropunctata var. obscura Forel HNS , 1912: 1. Syntype worker: Dibulla , Burithaka and Don Diego , Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta , Colombia ( Forel ); Ceara , Brazil ( Diaz da Rocha ) ; Santos , Brazil ( Dr. Ris ) [ MHNG ] (Dibulla and Ceara syntypes examined, Ceara worker here designated LECTOTYPE). NEW SYNONYMY.
Xiphomyrmex atomum HNS Santschi, 1914: 370. Syntype worker: Gabon, Libreville ( Silvestri ) [ NHMB ] (examined). Combination in Wasmannia HNS , and variety of auropunctata HNS : Santschi, 1916: 504. Junior synonym of auropunctata HNS : Wheeler, 1922: 912 .
Wasmannia glabra Santschi HNS , 1931: 272. Syntype queen: French Guiana, St. Laurent du Moroni ( Le Moult ) [ NHMB ] (examined). Junior synonym of auropunctata HNS : Kempf, 1964: 66 .
Wasmannia auropunctata st. pulla Santschi HNS , 1931: 272. Syntype worker: Panama, France Field , 9 May 1930 ( A. Bierig ) [ NHMB ] (examined). NEW SYNONYMY .
Hercynia panamana HNS Enzmann, J. 1947: 44, pl. 5. Syntype worker, queen: Panama. Junior synonym of auropunctata HNS : Brown, 1948: 102.
Taxonomic comments
Workers of W. auropunctata HNS have a strongly quadrate petiolar node. The anterior face of the node is sharply differentiated from both the peduncle and the dorsal face of the node, meeting both at nearly right angles, and forming a strongly step-like profile. This is a highly distinctive feature that easily distinguishes auropunctata HNS workers from all other Wasmannia HNS species. Within the species there is abundant variation in the strength of sculpturing and coloration, and this has engendered the naming of nine infraspecific forms in addition to the nominotypical. We have never been able to discover evidence of discrete forms among the workers of auropunctata HNS , either in sympatry or allopatry; the variation appears continuous. Three of the forms have already been synonymized by others: atomum HNS , glabra HNS , and panamana HNS . We have been able to examine types of three additional forms — obscura HNS , pulla HNS , and rugosa HNS — and they fall well within our concept of auropunctata HNS . The remaining forms — australis HNS , laevifrons HNS , nigricans HNS — we have not examined, but the published descriptions give no indication that they are beyond the range of variation of auropunctata HNS . We have synonymized them, following the philosophy that taxa should be synonymized unless evidence of distinctness is obtained.
The above synonymy does not assure that there is no genetic structuring, and perhaps species-level differences, within the broad concept of auropunctata HNS . There may even be distinct sympatric species. In Costa Rica, there appear to be two size classes of queens (Fig. 2). Queens with smaller heads include ten from various sites in Costa Rica, including La Selva Biological Station and the Penas Blancas Valley, one from Jamaica, and one from Venezuela. Queens with large heads are all from the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica. Three are from La Selva (two from different Winkler samples of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor, one from a small nest under an epiphyte mat in an old treefall) and one is an alate queen found in a Cecropia sapling near Volcan Arenal. Thus the small-headed and big-headed forms are broadly sympatric in Costa Rica. Among the small-headed queens four are definitively associated with workers from the same colony, and among the big-headed queens one is associated with workers. Others have workers doubtfully associated (together in the same Winkler sample). We can discern no differences in workers associated with the two types of queens. The cause of the two size classes of queens is unknown, but could reflect either differences between cryptic species or intraspecific polymorphism.
An aberrant worker form is frequently encountered in large samples of W. auropunctata HNS . These aberrant workers have the head grossly swollen. The entire head is more spherical than normal, as if the head were inflated like a balloon. The rest of the body is little different from a normal worker. These aberrant workers are occasionally encountered in Winkler samples that contain hundreds or thousands of auropunctata HNS workers.
Natural History
Wasmannia auropunctata HNS is a widespread pest ant (Clark et al., 1982; De Souza et al., 1998; Fabres & Brown, 1978; Jourdan, 1997; Lubin, 1984; Ulloa Chacon & Cherix, 1990; Williams, 1994; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). In its presumed native range it occurs from Argentina to Mexico (Kempf, 1972; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). Its introduced range includes the Galapagos Islands, West Africa (Gabon, Cameroon, and possibly the Republic of Congo and the Democratic RepubIic of Congo), Melanesia (New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and possibly Tuvalu), Polynesia (Wallis and Futuna and Hawaii), parts of the US (Florida and possibly California), and subtropical Atlantic islands (the Bahamas and Bermuda) (Wetterer & Porter, 2003). It is widespread on Caribbean islands, but it is unclear whether these are long-term native populations or recent introductions (Wetterer & Porter, 2003).
The species is remarkably catholic in its habitat preference. It is common in habitats ranging from wet to dry and from early successional to mature. In an elevational gradient of mature wet forest on the Atlantic slope of Costa Rica (the Barva Transect, from La Selva Biological Station to 2000 m elevation on the slope of Volcan Barva) it is abundant at 50 m and 500 m elevations, but nearly absent at 1070 m (Table 2). In the lowland habitats where it is abundant, it occurs in leaf litter on the forest floor and at all levels in the vegetation.
Although it occurs frequently in samples from mature forest habitats in Costa Rica, it is never so abundant in those habitats that it is noticeable as a pest or appears to be displacing other native species (Tennant, 1994; McGlynn & Kirksey, 2000; pers. obs.). In contrast, in certain agricultural habitats (banana plantations) and in parts of the tropics where it has been introduced it becomes super-abundant, with negative impacts on native species and human comfort (Clark et al., 1982; Wetterer & Porter, 2003). In dry-forest fragments in Colombia there is a negative correlation between W. auropunctata HNS abundance and overall ant diversity (Armbrecht & Ulloa Chacon, 2003). Where introduced in New Caledonia it invades dense native forest and displaces native ants (Le Breton et al., 2003). Behavioral tests and cuticular hydrocarbon analysis show that W. auropunctata HNS is multicolonial in its native range in Brazil, unicolonial where introduced in New Caledonia (Errard et al., 2002).
The sting of Wasmannia HNS is noteworthy. These are extremely tiny ants, barely visible in the field. When the senior author first began studying ants in Costa Rica, he was at first puzzled about Wasmannia HNS . By literature accounts Wasmannia HNS was reputed to have a terrible sting, but he had been collecting them for months in Corcovado National Park without ever experiencing the famous sting. One day he was collecting from a populous nest and some workers made it up to the soft skin of his inner forearm and began to sting. The sting was definitely noticeable, about as severe as a fire ant (i. e., Solenopsis geminata HNS ) but inordinately strong for an ant that could barely be seen! Workers are so small they cannot sting through the thicker skin of the hands.
Surprisingly, the chemical and toxicological nature of the venom of W. auropunctata HNS has not been investigated. Howard et al. (1982) discovered an alkylpyrazine compound in the mandibular glands, which acted as an attractant to conspecifics and a repellent to heterospecifics. They speculated that the workers might apply the mandibular gland product as an irritating secretion, augmenting the defensive properties of the venomous sting. It would be interesting to investigate whether the venom alone is the powerful agent in this small ant, or if the strong burning sensation is a synergetic effect of venom plus mandibular gland product.
Nests can be almost anywhere: in rolled leaves or dead sticks in the leaf litter, under stones, in rotten wood, in hollow stems suspended above the ground, in ant-plant domatia, and under epiphytes. Workers are omnivorous scavengers and predators and can rapidly recruit to food. Colonies are polygynous and it is never clear where colony boundaries are. Dozens of dealate queens may be found together in nests. Males are rare but do occasionally occur.
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1. Wasmannia auropunctata, Roger HNS .
(No. 39 a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, vi, n, o, q, r, s, t, u, et 48 c bis), , (Inedite). L. 4 a 4, 3 mill.; thorax large de 1, 0 a 1,1, abdo- men de 1, 3 mill. Le thorax beaucoup plus large que la tete. Tete beaucoup plus large que longue et beaucoup plus large derriere que devant, largement concave derriere. Occiput subtronque. Pronotum epaule devant. Mesonotum subdeprime. Metanotum pourvu de deux epines extremement larges, triangulaires et assess longues qui se prolongent en aretes un peu translucides jusqu'au lobule metasternal qui est lamelliforme. Premier article du pedi- cule avec un petiole beaucoup plus long et plus fort, et un n oe ud plus court que chez l'ouvriere.
Tete et thorax longitudinalement rides-stries, mats et tres finement reticules-ponctues entre les rides. Pedicule et 1 er segment de l'abdomen tres finement et densement reticules-ponctues et mats (le dernier en partie reticule et subopaque ainsi que les pattes). Le pedicule a en outre quelques impressions longitudinales. Les autres segments abdominaux tres faiblement chagrines et luisants. Le premier segment de l'abdomen n'a pas les gros points enfonces de la et du .
D'un brun roussatre ou jaunatre, ferrugineux. Dessus de la tete et du thorax ainsi que le milieu des segments abdominaux d'un brun chatain. Ailes teintes de brunatre, pubescentes; nervures et tache marginale brunes. Du reste comme l'ouvriere, en particulier la pilosite et la pubescence, les aretes frontales, etc.
(inedit). L. 4, 2 mill. Yeux grands, rapproches du bord anterieur de la tete. Mandibules dentees. Epistome sans carene. Scapes longs comme les deux premiers articles du funicule reunis. Premier article du funicule tres court, a peine plus long que large; second article d' 1 / 4 plus long que le 3 me. Face basale du meta- notum bien plus longue que la face declive; metanotum portant deux tubercules lateraux allonges. Premier article du pedicule avec un petiole large et un n oe ud arrondi, fortement elargi vers sa base. Valvules genitales exterieures terminees par deux immenses appendices longs, etroits, recourbes en bas, faiblement elargis vers leur extremite, longs comme les 2 / 3 de l'abdomen et depassant d'autant son extremite. Ces singuliers appendices qui ne sont qu'un prolongement demesure de l'extremite des valvules exte- rieures, donnent a ce male un aspect tout particulier. Mesonotum avec un large sillon median anterieur, deux sillons convergents et deux sillons lateraux posterieurs.
Tete et thorax densement reticules-ponctues et mats, avec quelques rides (quelques stries sur la tete). Metanotum en outre fortement ride en long. Pedicule reticule et subopaque. Abdomen luisant, faiblement reticule; sur le premier segment de gros points enfonces irreguliers. Pilosite et pubescence comme chez la et l'ouvriere, mais plus pointue et plus fine.
D'un brun fonce ou noiratre. Cotes du thorax, pattes et funicules d'un brun jaunatre sale. Mandibules, scapes, tarses, extre- mite des segments abdominaux, et appendices genitaux d'an jaunatre sale. Ailes d'une teinte un peu plus noiratre que chez la .
(39). A very common species. The communities ave generally rather small, but may be composed of several hundred, or even a thousand, individuals. The formicaria are very simple, advantage being taken of a space among rotting leaves on the ground, or there is a single chamber - sometimes two or three close together - - under a stone or stick, at the roots of grass, or under bark, nearly always in a damp place. In this the ants are found closely packed, with a single female, or several, if the community is large, and the eggs and larvas. The workers are sluggish in their movements, and the females still more so. The workers are frequently found on foliage, forest or open land.
(39 a). Oct. 11 th (leeward). Forest above Chateau- belais, 1000 ft.; under a stick.
(39 b). Near Fort Charlotte, Kingstown, 500 ft. Oct. 25 th. Small nest under the side of a stone; thickets. Several males but no female found.
(39 c). Fitz-Hugh Valley (leeward), 500 ft. Nov. 4 th. Open place. Nest under log, and partly under the bark, with several chambers.
(39 d). Several nests. Localities and dates, not noted.
(39 e). Near Golden Grove House (leeward), 500 ft. Oct. 6 th. Coco orchards, among rotting leaves, under stones, & c. Several colonies; in one large one (several hundred workers) I could find no female. Some were taken on foliage.
(39 f). Same locality and date as No. 89 e. A small colony, under a stone.
(39 g). Bowwood Valley, near Kingstown, 800 ft. Oct. 21 st. Open place under a stone. Small colony.
(39 h). Near Palmyra Estate (leewardi, 1000 ft. Nov. 3 rd. Open place; under a log; between rotting leaves.
(39 i). Wallilobo Valley (leeward), Nov. 5 th. 5000 ft. Forest. Small nest under sod on a rock.
(39 j). Wallibou (leeward); seashore thickets. Oct. 7 th. Small nest under a stone.
(39 k). Old Botanical Garden, Kingstown; second growth. A small nest, in rotting-wood.
(39 l). Forest above Chateaubelais, 1000 ft. March. A single female, under rotting leaves.
(39 m). Open land and forest, 1500 ft. to sea-level. Beaten from foliage. Various localities and dates.
(39 n). Various localities and dates; forest or open land below 2000 ft. Taken from small nests, or found among rotting leaves.
(39 o). Southern end of island; Villa Estate. Oct. 14 th. Seashore thicket. Small nest under a block of coral (doubtfully referred to this species).
(39 q). Petit Bordelle Valley, 1600 ft. Nov. 13 th. Clearing. A small nest in rotten wood.
(39 r). Camden Park Estate (leeward), north of Kingstown. Nov. 19 th. Small nest under the bark of a palm-log; seaside thicket. No female could be found.
(39 s). Windward side, Robocca to Grand Sable Estate. Jan .. 2 nd and 3 rd. From several nests in various localities near the seashore; under stones.
(39 t). Windward, Grand Sable Estate; open place near the sea. Community of about 500, under a stone. Jan. 3 rd.
(32 u). Sandy bed of Dry River (windward), near sea. Jan. 2 nd. Under a stone. Associated with No. 34 c.
(48 c bis). Females found without workers; under sod on rocks; different localities near sea-level (leeward), and south end of island. November.
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/40BD4D6A2224A7D95B837ECA3914033F |
Wasmannia auropunctata Roger HNS
. La Caja, pres San Jose de Costa Rica, 1100 metres, Costa Rica (P. Biolley), Costa Rica (J. - F. Tristan).
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/3992BDCD59C4FAB111B8431650A7C3E9 |
auropunctata HNS (Roger 1863a).
Boquerón , Caaguazú , Canindeyú , Central, Pte. Hayes (ALWC, IFML, INBP, LACM, MHNG MSCN, MZSP). Literature records: Alto Paraná , Concepción (Emery 1894a, Emery 1906, Forel 1907b; [also as “ australis HNS ”, “ nigricans HNS ”, and “ rugosa HNS ”]).
- Wild, A. L. (2007): A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 1622, 1-55: 38-38, URL:http://www.antbase.org/ants/publications/21367/21367.pdf
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/F2D783603D317E1322B7E17C74515892 |
Wasmannia auropunctata (Roger HNS 1863a)
I [introduced species]
- Ward, P. S. (2005): A synoptic review of the ants of California (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 936, 1-68: null, URL:http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21008/21008.pdf
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/0D09B256C86AAEBB1285040E2EA4025C |