Strumigenys nepalensis Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994

Brassard, Francois, Leong, Chi-Man, Chan, Hoi-Hou & Guenard, Benoit, 2020, A new subterranean species and an updated checklist of Strumigenys (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Macao SAR, China, with a key to species of the Greater Bay Area, ZooKeys 970, pp. 63-116 : 63

Strumigenys nepalensis Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994 Figure 12

Strumigenys nepalensis Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994: 57, figs 33, 34 (w.q.) Nepal. Indomalaya.

Smithistruma nepalensis (Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994). Combination in Smithistruma : Bolton 1995: 385.

Pyramica nepalensis (Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994). Combination in Pyramica : Bolton 1999: 1673.

Strumigenys nepalensis (Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1994). Combination in Strumigenys : Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2007: 124.

Geographic distribution.

Native: China (Yunnan), India (north), Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. Introduced : China (Hong Kong, Macao), Mascarene Islands, India (Kerala).

Comments.

This species was first recorded in Macao in 2017 ( Leong et al. 2017). In 2019, of the three sites at which S. nepalensis was collected from, two were heavily disturbed; they consisted of a golf course, and a thin strip of forest bordered by the ocean and a highway. The last one was a patch of young secondary forest nearby another golf course. Our records in Macao support the hypothesis of Tang and collaborators (2019) that this species is a potential tramp species adapted to human-disturbed habitats.

Material examined.

Macao SAR, China • 3 Workers; Macao, Coloane Island, Caesars Golf Macau; 22.1351°N, 113.5611°E, ca. 10 m; 25 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S19_LLSP_Sp.3; IBBL. • 3 Worker; Macao, Coloane Island, Ka Ho Reservoir hillside; 22.1333°N, 113.5744°E, ca. 90 m; 9 April 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler MAC_S09_LLSA_Sp.5; IBBL. • 21 Workers; Macao, Coloane Island, Caesars Golf Macau; 22.1351°N, 113.5612°E, ca. 10 m; 25 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S19_LLSA_Sp.2; IBBL. • 19 Workers; Macao, Coloane Island, Cotai Ecological Zone II; 22.1418°N, 113.5519°E, ca. 0 m; 26 June 2019;F. Brassard leg.; MAC_S20_LLSA_Sp.7; Winkler; IBBL. • 1 Worker; Macao, Coloane Island, Cotai Ecological Zone II; 22.1418°N, 113.5519°E; ca. 0 m; 26 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S20_LLSP_Sp.8; IBBL. Worker, Macao, Hac Sa Reservoir, 20 August 2016, C.M. Leong leg., [IBBL], (n = 1). • 4 Queens; Macao, Coloane Island, Caesars Golf Macau; 22.1351°N, 113.5612°E, ca. 10 m; 25 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler MAC_S19_LLSA_Sp.2; IBBL. • 3 Queens; Macao, Coloane Island, Caesars Golf Macau; 22.1351°N, 113.5611°E, ca. 10 m; 25 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S19_LLSP_Sp.3; IBBL. • 3 Queens; Macao, Coloane Island, Cotai Ecological Zone II; 22.1418°N, 113.5519°E, ca. 0 m; 26 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S20_LLSA_Sp.7; IBBL. • 3 Queens; Macao, Coloane Island, Cotai Ecological Zone II; 22.1418°N, 113.5519°E, ca. 0 m; 26 June 2019; F. Brassard leg.; Winkler; MAC_S20_LLSP_Sp.8; IBBL.

Figures

Figure 12. Strumigenys nepalensis in full-face, profile and dorsal view A-C worker (MAC _ S 19 _ LLSP _ Sp. 3) D-F queen (MAC _ S 19 _ LLSP _ Sp. 3).