New Ant Species Research Articles

New Species of Honeypot Ant of the Genus Myrmecocystus1 from Pacific Coastal Dunes of Baja California, Mexico

New Species of Honeypot Ant of the Genus Myrmecocystus1 from Pacific Coastal Dunes of Baja California, Mexico

Two new ant species of the genus Leptogenys (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Hainan, China, with a key to the known Chinese species.

Two new species of ponerine ants from Hainan Province, China, Leptogenyshainanensissp. nov. and L.zhouisp. nov., are delineated and depicted based on the worker caste. Leptogenyshainanensissp. nov. belongs to the L.leleji species group, with mandibles elongate, slender and curved, lacking a distinct masticatory margin. On the other hand, L.zhouisp. nov. belongs to the L.crassicornis species group, distinguished by its square head, smooth body, mandibles with a dentate masticatory margin, and short antennae. A key to workers for the known species of Leptogenys in China are provided and a map is provided for the newly described species.

Three new species and one new country record of velvet ants (Hymenoptera, Mutillidae) from Thailand

Three new species of velvet ants known from females are here described: Mickelomyrme leleji Sittichaya & Williams, sp. nov., Nordeniella dokbua Sittichaya & Williams, sp. nov., and Smicromyrme songkhwae Sittichaya & Williams, sp. nov. One additional species is newly recorded from Thailand: Bischoffitilla selangorensis (Pagden). Synoptic list of Mutillidae in Thailand Natural History Museum with new records is given.

Three new exotic species of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) for Madeira, with comments on its myrmecofauna

Three new exotic species of ants are recorded for the Macaronesian island of Madeira:Cardiocondyla obscuriorWheeler, 1929,Lepisiota capensis(Mayr, 1862) andPheidole navigansForel, 1901. The well-known invasivePheidole megacephalais now rare on Madeira, possibly because of competition withP. navigans. We did not come across the Argentine ant –Linepithema humile, which was once very common in the Funchal area. Despite extensive searching, the presumed endemicTemnothorax wollastoni(Donisthorpe, 1940) remains unknown other than from the type material. Presence, abundance and extinction of invasive and exotic ants are dynamic processes and we stress the importance of continuous sampling.

The oldest Cenozoic ant fossil: †Tyrannomecia gen. nov. (Formicidae: Myrmeciinae) from the Palaeocene Menat Formation (France)

ABSTRACT A new genus and species of myrmeciine ants, also called bulldog ants, is described and illustrated from the Palaeocene of Menat (France) as Tyrannomecia inopinata gen. et sp. nov. This new taxon represents the oldest representative of the subfamily and provides the oldest calibration point for the total clade Myrmeciinae. It shows the apomorphic characters used to define the Myrmeciinae: mandibles elongate such that their length is three-quarters or more of head length, third abdominal segment (AIII) substantially smaller than the fourth abdominal segment (AIV), and with its height distinctly less than that of the fourth one. This new genus is easily differentiated from all the other myrmeciine ants owing to its petiole with a conspicuous tooth located dorsally on the posterior declivity, and is considered to belong to the stem-Myrmeciinae. Aside from the calibration aspects, this new taxon, possessing a hunter morphology, is used to discuss implications for the recovery of ants after the K/Pg.

Two new species of doryline ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with 11-segmented antennae from India.

Two new species of the subfamily Dorylinae Leach, 1815 namely Parasysciaganeshaiahisp. nov. and Sysciaindicasp. nov. are described and illustrated based on the worker caste. These species were collected in the Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India. Keys to Parasyscia of India and Syscia of Asia are provided based on the worker caste.

Three new species of velvet ants from the tribe Smicromyrmini (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae) with unusual color syndrome

Ephucilla hejunhuai sp. n. (China: Guangdong), Promecilla ovtchinnikovi sp. n. (Pakistan: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Smicromyrme (Eremotilla) burgeri sp. n. (India: Karnataka) are described and illustrated. These new species have second metasomal tergum with ferruginous-red cuticle, color pattern which approximates Eastern mimicry ring in North America.

Two new ant species (Formicidae: Dorylinae, Ponerinae) from New Caledonia

Two new species of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) collected from New Caledonia are described and figured based on worker specimens: Leptogenys loarelae Ramage sp. nov. (Ponerinae, Ponerini) and Lioponera neocaledonica Jouault, Ramage & Perrichot sp. nov. (Dorylinae, Cerapachyini). All specimens were collected from the South Province of Grande Terre. These two new species are primarily distinguished from the other New Caledonian relatives by the size and shape of petiole for L. loarelae Ramage sp. nov. and by the presence of dorsolateral margins on the mesosoma for L. neocaledonica Jouault, Ramage & Perrichot sp. nov. Keys to New Caledonian Leptogenys and Lioponera are provided.

Four new species of Australian velvet ants (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae, Aglaotilla) reared from bee and wasp nests, with a review of Australian mutillid host records.

Four species of velvet ants (Mutillidae) were reared from nests of solitary bees and wasps collected using trap nests in southwest Australia and identified using morphological and DNA barcoding approaches. All four species, Aglaotilla micra sp. nov., A. lathronymphos sp. nov., A. chalcea sp. nov. and A. schadophaga sp. nov., are described as new, the last three from both sexes. A. micra, A. lathronymphos and A. chalcea are parasitoids of wasps in the genera Pison and Aulacophilinus (Crabronidae), with A. chalcea also recorded from Paralastor (Vespidae). Aglaotilla schadophaga is a parasitoid of bees in the genus Megachile (Megachilidae). The biologies and known hosts of Australian Mutillidae are reviewed. Photographs are also provided of type material for Ephutomorpha aeneidorsis Turner, 1914 (=Aglaotilla discolor Brothers, 2018), Mutilla metallica Smith, 1855 and Ephutomorpha subelegans Rayment, 1933. The lectotype of E. subelegans is formally designated.

Acromyrmex fowleri: a new inquiline social parasite species of leaf-cutting ants from South America, with a discussion of social parasite biogeography in the Neotropical region

Ant inquiline social parasites obligately depend on their hosts for survival and reproduction. Because of their shift from a eusocial to a socially parasitic life history, inquiline social parasites are interesting study systems for exploring the dynamics between conflict and cooperation in eusocial insect colonies. In addition, inquiline social parasites are of interest to evolutionary biology, because some species evolved directly from their hosts via sympatric speciation. With five described species, inquiline social parasites are relatively diverse in the fungus-growing ants. So far, four species have been reported from the leaf-cutting ant genus Acromyrmex and its closely affiliated social parasite genus Pseudoatta. In contrast, only a single parasite species was described from the lower attine genus Mycocepurus. Here, we describe a new species of inquiline social parasite, Acromyrmex fowleri sp. nov., which was discovered 27 years ago in the tropical region of Brazil (State of Bahia), living inside the colonies of its host Acromyrmex rugosus. We also report observations on the behavioral ecology and natural history of A. fowleri and its host. Our study suggests that A. fowleri is an obligate, queen-tolerant, workerless inquiline social parasite of A. rugosus and that A. fowleri represents some but not all morphological and life history characters of the inquiline syndrome, supporting the hypothesis that the complex traits of the inquiline syndrome evolve in a mosaic fashion. Considering that A. fowleri is a new social parasite species from tropical Brazil, we discuss the paradoxical biogeographic distribution of ant social parasites, which we refer to as the “Kutter–Wilson Paradox”, and conclude that the Kutter–Wilson Paradox is a genuine biogeographical pattern, instead of being a mere sampling artifact.

Two new species of Leptogenys from southern Brazil (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Two new species of ants belonging to the genus Leptogenys are described: L. academica n. sp., and L. carioca n. sp., both belonging to the crudelis group. The former species is known from the city of Curitiba while the other species occurs in montane forests of the Itatiaia Plateau. We provide descriptions based on the worker caste, images, as well as a modification of the key presently used for identifying the New World workers of Leptogenys.

Acromyrmex charruanus: a new inquiline social parasite species of leaf-cutting ants

Social parasites exploit the colony resources of social species to secure their own survival and reproduction. Social parasites are frequently studied as models for conflict and cooperation as well as for speciation. The eusocial Hymenoptera harbor a diverse array of socially parasitic species with idiosyncratic life history strategies, but it is probably in the ants where social parasites are most speciose and have evolved the highest degrees of morphological and behavioral specialization. In the fungus-growing ants, a total of five obligate social parasites are known: four species are parasites of leaf-cutting ants and one species parasitizes a primitive fungus-growing ant species in the genus Mycocepurus. Here we describe a new species of socially parasitic leaf-cutting ant, Acromyrmex charruanus sp. nov., from Uruguay, and we report initial observations on the parasite’s life history as well as on the morphological and behavioral adaptations related to the inquiline syndrome. Our observations suggest that Acromyrmex charruanus is an obligate inquiline social parasite of the thatch-mound-building, leaf-cutting ant Acromyrmex heyeri. Acromyrmex charruanus appears to be tolerant of the host, producing sexual offspring in the presence of the A. heyeri host queen. Queens of A. charruanus appear to reproduce semelparously and sexual offspring are produced during the austral fall (February), which differs significantly from the mating biology of the host species, which reproduces during the southern-hemisphere spring (October–December). We suggest that the diametrically opposed mating seasons of parasite and host might be adaptive, allowing the parasite to avoid competition for resources with the host sexual brood. The morphological and behavioral adaptations of A. charruanus accord with characters observed to arise early during the evolution of other ant inquiline parasite species, and so far we have no evidence for the existence of a worker caste in A. charruanus. Further field studies and behavioral experiments need to confirm our first observations and explore A. charruanus’s behavioral ecology, evolution, and life history in more detail.

A New Species of Neotropical Carpenter Ant in the GenusCamponotus(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Apparently without Major Workers

We describe a new species of carpenter ants from Ecuador, which apparently has an obligatory relationship with the ant plantsCecropia membranaceaTrécul,C. herthaeDiels andC. marginalisCuatrec. The workers are relatively small and hairy, and based on a number of collections, it does not appear to have major workers. We compare the new species toCamponotus balzani, to which it appears to be similar and which has normal major workers, and also lives inCecropiaspp.

Three new species of ants (genus Aphaenogaster, Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Turkey

Three new species of the ant genus Aphaenogaster (A. aktaci sp. n., A. maculifrons sp. n., A. radchenkoi sp. n.) are described from Turkey and their taxonomic positions are discussed. Aphaenogaster aktaci sp. n. belongs to the obsidiana group, A. maculifrons sp. n. to subterranea group and A. radchenkoi sp. n. to pallida group of the Attomyrma subgenus. Key characteristics for identification of the species and data on their ecology are given.

New ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Micronesia

Nine new species of ants collected in Micronesia are described and illustrated: Camponotus eperiamorum n. sp. (Pohnpei I.), C. erythrocephalus n. sp. (Yap I.), C. flavicomans n. sp. (Palau), C. marianensis n. sp. (Mariana Is.), C. peleliuensis n. sp. (Palau), Pheidole recondita n. sp. (Marianas and eastern Caroline Is), Vollenhovia kaselela n. sp. (Pohnpei I.), V. mwereka n. sp. (Pohnpei I.), and V. pwidikidika n. sp. (Pohnpei I.). They were discovered while cataloging the ant fauna of Micronesia, and several of them were already noted as possible new species when found in museum collections. Type series for five of the species include modern collections made during the course of this study.

The thief ants, Solenopsis molesta group, of Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

The workers, males and females of 2 new species of thief ants, Solenopsis abdita and S. tonsa, are described. The female of S. nickersoni Thompson is described for the first time, and the 1945 discovery and 1980 rediscovery of S. corticalis Forel in Florida are reported. The workers of all 8 Florida species are figured and placed in a taxonomic key.

A new species of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Nagaland, north-east India.

A new species of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Nagaland, north-east India.

Two new species of ants of the genus Tetramorium (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from south-east Kazakhstan.

Two new species of ants of the genus Tetramorium (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from south-east Kazakhstan.

Two New Species of Exotic Ants

This article has no abstract.

LV.—Two new species of ants, and a few others from Turkey

LV.—<i>Two new species of ants, and a few others from Turkey</i>