Pheidole antillana, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 654

Pheidole antillana Forel, new status

Pheidole guilelmimuelleri subsp. antillana Forel 1893j: 401. Syn.: Pheidole guilelmimuelleri subsp. antillana var. nigrescens Forel 1893j: 404 (unavailable name).

Types Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve; Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named after the Antilles, the native region of the species.

diagnosis Similar to avia , bucculenta , guilelmimuelleri , hetschkoi , heyeri , hortonae , praeses , rhytifera , and sarcina of South America, as well as mamore of the scrobifera group, but differing in the following combination of traits.

Major: antennal scrobe absent; strong medium-length propodeal spines present; carinulae originating on the frontal lobes mostly approach or reach the occiput; intercarinular spaces of cephalic dorsum smooth and shiny; humerus rugoreticulate.

Minor: occiput narrow but lacking a nuchal collar; humerus denticulate in dorsal-oblique view; carinulae on head confined to area mesad and anterior to the eyes and several broken lines on the occiput; carinulae on pronotum sparse and limited to anterior margin.

Color varies from yellow to dark brown, as part of geographic variation among different island populations.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.56, HL 1.72, SL 0.74, EL 0.16, PW 0.80.

Paratype minor: HW 0.66, HL 0.72, SL 0.76, EL 0.10, PW 0.66.

color The material I have examined varies according to the island of origin: reddish yellow on St. Vincent (types); light reddish brown to dark brown on Grenada; and light reddish brown on Dominica.

Range St. Vincent, Grenada, and Dominica. Stefan Cover and I failed to find antillana on Barbados, in spite of careful searching in forested habitats there.

Biology The following field notes by H. H. Smith (in Forel 1893j) on St. Vincent match those made by Stefan Cover and me on Grenada in June 1995: "A common species in forest and shady places. The colonies are generally composed of one or two hundred individuals at most, but may have as many as six or seven hundred. The formicarium is generally under bark of very rotten logs, or under a log or stick; rarely under a stone or under turf on a rock. It is an irregular chamber, with short radiating passages, the whole commonly occupying only two or three inches of space. The workers major are few in number, sometimes only one or two in the colony. Both workers major and minor are sluggish, especially the former." Smith found seeds in at least one of the nests. Sexual forms were found by him in the nests in October and November, and by Charles T. Brues on Grenada in September.

Figure Upper: syntype, major. Lower: syntype, minor. ST. VINCENT: West Indies (H. H. Smith). Scale bars = 1 mm.