the systematics and biology of the new world tidef ants of the genus solenopsis

502 Pages·2013·16.94 MB·English

THE SYSTEMATICS AND BIOLOGY
OF THE NEW WORLD TIDEF ANTS OF
THE GENUS SOLENOPSIS
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)
THE SYSTEMATICS AND BIOLOGY
OF THE NEW WORLD THIEF ANTS OF
THE GENUS SOLENOPSIS
(HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE)
Jose A. Pacheco
and
William P. Mackay
With a Foreword by John Lattke
Universidad Central de Venezuela
The Edwin Mellen Press
Lewiston. Queenston. Lampeter
3
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Pacheco, Jose A.
The systematics and Biology of the New World Thief Ants of the genus So
lenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) I Jose A. Pacheco and William Mackay;
with a Foreword by Dr. John Lattke
p. c.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-
ISBN-
1. Solenopsis. I. Mackay, William. II. Title.
QL
hors serie.
A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.
Front cover photograph: Solenopsis pergandei nest with queen
Photograph courtesy of Dr. Alex Wild, used with permission. This and other sim
ilar photographs are available at http://www.alexanderwild.coml
Copyright © 2013 Jose Pacheco and William Mackay
All rights reserved. For information contact
The Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press
Box 450 Box 67
Lewiston, New York Queenston, Ontario
USA 14092-0450 CANADA
The Edwin Mellen Press, Ltd.
Lampeter, Ceredigion, Wales
UNITED KINGDOM SA 48 8LT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ............................................................................................................ 13
Significance .................................................................................. 14
Taxonomic history of the thief ants within Sole nop sis ........................... 15
Materials and Methods ........................................................................................... 18
Sources of material ....................................................................... 18
Designation of lectotypes........................................................... ... 19
Morphological characters ............................................................... 20
Measurements and indices ............................................................. 21
Delineation of species limits ..........................................................2 4
Description of the genus Solenopsis ...................................................................... 26
Distribution and natural istory ............................................................ 28
Revision of the thief ants .................................................................. 29
Synonymic list of species of the thief ants of the genus Solenopsis .................. 30
Taxa excluded from or moved to Solenopsis ............................................ 37
species complexes .......................................................................... 38
Key to the species complexes of the genus Solenopsis in the New World ........ .39
Clave a los complejos de especies del genero Solenopsis en el Nuevo Mundo ... .41
brevicornis species complex .................................................................................. 43
Clave para las obreras del complejo brevicornis .................................................. .44
Key to the workers of North American species oftheJugax complex ................. .46
Clave para las obreras del complejo Jugax en America al Norte de Colombia .... .48
Key to the workers of the South American species of the Jugax complex ............ 50
Clave para las obreras del complejo Jugax en Sur America .................................. 52
globularia species complex ................................................................................... 54
Key to workers of the globularia complex ............................................................ 55
Clave para las obreras del complejo globularia .................................................... 56
molesta species complex ........................................................................................ 57
Key to workers (north of Colombia) of species of the molesta complex .............. 5 8
Clave para las obreras del complejo molesta (America al norte de Colombia) ..... 64
Key to workers of South American species of the molesta complex .................... 70
Clave para las obreras del complejo molesta en Suramerica ................................. 76
nigella species complex ......................................................................................... 82
Key to workers of New World species of the nigella complex ............................. 83
pygmaea species complex ...................................................................................... 88
Key to species of the pygmaea complex ................................................................ 89
stricta species complex .......................................................................................... 95
Key to workers of the stricta complex ................................................................... 96
Key to the workers of the wasmannii species complex ........................................ 98
Solenopsis abdita Thompson ............................................................................. 101
Solenopsis abjectior Pacheco and Mackay ..... , ................ ,. ................................ 10 5
Solenopsis altinodis Forel ..................... '" ........................................................... 10 7
Solenopsis andina Santschi ................................................................................. 109
Solenopsis azteca Forel. ...................................................................................... 111
Solenopsis basalis Forel ...................................................................................... 115
Solenopsis bicolor Emery, NEW COMBINATION .............................................. 119
Solenopsis brevicornis Emery ............................................................................. 123
Solenopsis bucki Kempf. ...................................................................................... 125
Solenopsis carolinensis Forel ............................................................................. 127
Solenopsis castor Forel ........................................................................... 131
Solenopsis clytemnestra Emery ......................................................... 135
Solenopsis conjurata Wheeler .......................................................... 139
Solenopsis corticalis Forel ............................................................... 142
Solenopsis decipiens Emery ............................................................. 146
Solenopsis desecheoensis Mann ......................................................... 148
Solenopsis dysderces Snelling ............................................................ 150
Solenopsis emiliae Santschi, NEW STATUS .......................................... 152
Solenopsisfranki Forel .................................................................. 155
Solenopsis gensterblumi Forel, NEW STATUS ....................................... 158
Solenopsis germaini Emery ............................................................. 160
Solenopsisglobularia (Smith) ........................................................... 164
Solenopsis gnoma Pacheco, Herrera & Mackay ...................................... 170
Solenopsis goeldii Forel .................................................................. 175
Solenopsis hayemi Forel ................................................................. 177
Solenopsis helena Emery ................................................................ 179
Solenopsis iheringi Forel ................................................................ 183
Solenopsis impolita Moreno, Mackay & Pacheco, NEW SPECIES ................ 186
Solenopsis isopilis Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES .............................. 188
Solenopsis joergenseni Santschi ........................................................ 190
Solenopsis johnsoni Pacheco, Mackay & Moreno, NEW SPECIES ................ 193
So/enopsis krockowi Wheeler ................................................... ' ...... 196
Solenopsis laeviceps Mayr .............................................................. 199
Solenopsis latastei Emery. .............................................................. 202
Solenopsis leptanilloides Santschi ......................................................2 06
Solenopsis longinoi Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES ............................ 208
Solenopsis loretana Santschi ........................................................... .21 0
Solenopsis lucayensis Wheeler ..........................................................2 12
Solenopsis maboya Snelling .............................................................2 14
Solenopsis macrops Santschi.. ......................................................... 217
Solenopsis major Forel.. .................................................................2 19
Solenopsis melina Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES ...................................... 222
Solenopsis metanotalis Emery ........................................................................... 225
Solenopsis minutissima Emery ........................................................................... 229
Solenopsis molesta (Say) .................................................................................... 232
Solenopsis nickersoni Thompson ....................................................................... 238
Solenopsis nigella Emery .................................................................................... 240
Solenopsis ocellata Moreno, Mackay & Pacheco, NEW SPECIES ..................... 242
Solenopsis oculata Santschi ................................................................................ 244
Solenopsis orestes Forel ...................................................................................... 246
Solenopsis parva Mayr ........................................................................................ 248
Solenopsis patagonica Emery ............................................................................ 252
Solenopsis patriciae Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES .................................. 255
Solenopsis pergandei Forel ................................................................................. 258
Solenopsis photophila Santschi .......................................................................... 261
Solenopsis picea Emery ..................................................................................... 263
Sole no psis picta Emery ....................................................................................... 268
Solenopsis pilosula Wheeler ............................................................................... 271
Solenopsis pollux Forel ....................................................................................... 274
Solenopsis pulleni Pacheco, Mackay, & Moreno, NEW SPECIES ...................... 280
Solenopsis pygmaea Forel .................................................................................. 282
Solenopsis quadridentata Pacheco, Mackay & Moreno, NEW SPECIES .......... 285
Solenopsis rosella Kennedy, NEW STATUS ....................................................... 288
Solenopsis rugiceps Mayr ................................................................................... 292
Solenopsis salina Wheeler .................................................................................. 294
Solenopsis schilleri Santschi ............................................................................... 297
Solenopsis shiptoni Forel .................................................................................... 299
Soienopsis striata Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES ..................................... .301
Soienopsis stricta Emery .................................................................................... 303
Soienopsis subterranea Mackay and Vinson .................................................... .307
Soienopsis subtilis Emery ................................................................................... 309
Soienopsis succinea Emery ................................................................................. 313
Soienopsis sulfurea (Roger) ............................................................................... .316
Soienopsis tennesseensis Smith ......................................................................... .320
Soienopsis tenuis Mayr. ....................................................................................... 322
Soienopsis terricoia Menozzi ............................................................................. .326
Soienopsis tetracantha Emery .......................................................................... .329
Soienopsis texana Forel ...................................................................................... 332
Soienopsis thoracica Santschi ........................................................................... .338
Soienopsis tonsa Thompson ............................................................................... 341
Solenopsis validiuscula Emery .......................................................................... .343
Solenopsis vinsoni Pacheco & Mackay, NEW SPECIES .................................... .348
Solenopsis wasmannii Emery ............................................................................ .352
Solenopsis westwoodi Forel ................................................................................ 356
Solenopsis whitfordi Mackay, Moreno, & Pacheco, NEW SPECIES ................ .359
Solenopsis zeteki Wheeler .................................................................................. 361
Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 365
Future Directions ......................................................................... 366
References ........................................................................................................... 483
Index ...................................................................................... 492
8
FOREWARD
Exploring and documenting the living world that surrounds us is a never
ending and monumental task that has been undertaken by legions of persons
throughout history. Yet for all such endeavor, our knowledge of things biological
remains scant and uneven, with some areas much better known than others. If we
compare the body of knowledge about vertebrates with invertebrates, such as
insects, this imbalance becomes starkly apparent. Within the insects ants have
been the subject of such attention that they are considered a relatively better
known group than many others, but despite such efforts there still remain
significant areas shrouded in mystery.
One such abyss are the thief ants, minute denizens of the soil and leaf
litter, which abound in many surveys of ground dwelling ants, especially in the
New World tropics. Their small size and somewhat scant morphological
differences between the species have been a strong disincentive for revisionary
work by myrmecologists, with most treatises being geographically restricted in
scope. Sadly none of these are from the Neotropics, where more than half of the
known species are known, and where some surveys have recorded a diversity of
Soienopsis that exceed 10% of all species sampled.
Such abundance hints not only of the presence of many undescribed
species, but also suggest significant roles in ecosystems processes for these ants in
at least some localities. Unfortunately our knowledge of thief ants mostly consists
of scattered descriptions, and many morphospecies lists from diverse surveys and
fieldwork, either of which may be of little use anyways given the onerous
demands in recognizing their species. Such is the dread thief ants inflict that some
surveys have even excluded them from consideration, rendering them an
ostracized caste of untouchables, shunned by ecologists and taxonomists alike.
Imposing some semblance of order within such such chaos is not for the
lighthearted, nor for those who will not budge until all is perfect, for such a
moment rarely comes, if ever. Given the difficulties, the chosen path has been one
of patiently chipping away at various odds and ends throughout several decades,
accumulating information and opportunistically solving problems until a more
compact target loaned itself for a final assault. The siege in itself was to last
several more years but bolstered by the youthful energy of Isidra Moreno and Jose
Pacheco. Their iron-willed determination, gluttony for work, and team - effort,
persevered over the difficulties and risks, finally permitting a preliminary vision
9
of the New World species of So/enopsis.
They offer us the recognition of slightly over 80 species, all diagnosed,
described, and illustrated, including gynes and males when possible. Well
illustrated keys, in Spanish as well as English, will help users determine their ants.
Every species account includes a discussion of the and strengths upon which each
species is defined, thus further aiding identifications. Major taxonomic changes
are proposed, including the reasoned synonymy of many taxa. A new scheme of
well-defined species complexes is outlined, doing away with the ambiguities of
previous schemes and facilitating determinations. Not withstanding their
gargantuan effort, the authors candidly explain the limits and shortcomings of
their work.
With this product a gate is unlocked and cast aside, and permitting light to
shine upon a vast chamber, hitherto unknown and even avoided. Like the initial
steps of speleologists within a grand cave system the first light reveals numerous
shadows, abysses, and galleries waiting to be explored. The first survey then
takes a life of its own as it is corroborated, corrected and complemented by
subsequent teams of spelunkers. Let this opus be the key and light to encourage
and guide further exploration of this group of ants.
J. Lattke
Jan 2013