Pheidole flavens

Nomenclature

Species: Pheidole flavens Roger, 1863

Usage: valid

Syntype: BMNH - ANTC21107 - CASENT0901615

External links

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Diagnostic description

Diagnosis of worker among Antkey species

Worker castes bimorphic. Head shape ovoid (minor workers) or subrectangular with posterolateral lobes (majors), but never triangular. Antenna 12-segmented. Antennal club 3-segmented. Antennal insertions at least partly covered by frontal lobes; not surrounded by a raised sharp-edged ridge. Frontal lobes do not obscure face outline between mandible and eye; relatively close together so that the posteromedian portion of the clypeus, where it projects between the frontal lobes, is at most only slightly broader than one of the lobes. Posterolateral corners of head unarmed, without spines. Mandibles triangular. Mesosoma with erect hairs. Pronotal spines absent. Propodeum armed with spines or teeth. Slope of mesosoma steep. Waist 2-segmented. Petiole pedunculate with a distinct and upright node; lacking large subpetiolar process. Postpetiole attached to lower surface of gaster; not swollen; in dorsal view not distinctly broader than long or distinctly wider than petiole. Minor worker characters. Head punctate. Antennal scapes extend beyond posterior margin of head. Antennal scrobe lacking. Postpetiole not swollen relative to petiole. Hairs on mesosoma fine and flexuous, not arranged in pairs. Major worker characters. Antennal scrobe weakly to moderately impressed, but some depression capable of receiving antennal scapes clearly visible. Cephalic carinae approaching posterior head margin [requires additional analysis]. Posterolateral lobes distinctly rugose. Posterolateral portion of cephalic dorsum smooth and shining, lacking sculpture. Promesonotum in profile with one distinct convexity.

Minor workers of P. flavens are most easily distinguished from P. fervens, P. megacephala, P. obscurithorax and P. teneriffana by the presence of an entirely punctate head. Pheidole flavens can be separated from P. anastasii, P. bilimeki and P. punctatissima by the erect mesosomal hairs, which are fine, flexuous and not arranged in pairs (versus stout, stiff and arranged in pairs). Separating P. flavens from the closely P. moerens is very difficult, and additional character analysis is required before the two can be reliably distinguished from each other. The rugose posterolateral lobes of P. flavens major workers separate them from P. megacephala (smooth and shining posterolateral lobes) and from P. anastasii, P. bilimeki and P. punctatissima (punctate posterolateral lobes). The presence of an antennal scrobe and the less densely packed rugoreticulum on the posterolateral lobes separate them from P. obscurithorax. They are separated from P. fervens and P. teneriffana by the smooth (versus sculptured) posterolateral portion of the cephalic dorsum sculptured (best observed in profile), and also by the presence of one convexity (versus two convexities) on the promesonotum in profile. Although Wilson claimed the cephalic carinae of P. flavens approach the posterior head margin while those of P. moerens stop short of the posterior head margin, the character does not seem to hold true across all populations. Stefan Cover (pers. comm.) has suggested that the Florida populations of P. flavens and P. moerens are easily differentiated with the latter occupying a wide variety of habitats, including disturbed zones, and flavens occupying more shaded mesic habitats. He also suggested the Florida moerens may have a more flattened portion of the posterolateral lobes that is shinier with a less foveolate ground sculpture.

Look alikes

Pheidole moerens

Distribution

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