Cataglyphis livida ( André, 1881 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Mohamed, Amr A., Fisher, Brian L. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2020, A Preliminary Synopsis of the Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with Remarks on the Zoogeography, Annales Zoologici 70 (4), pp. 533-560 : 540-542

Cataglyphis livida ( André, 1881)

( Fig. 9 A–C)

Myrmecocystus albicans var. lividus André, 1881a: 58 (w.) Palestine. Palearctic.

Diagnosis. Worker. Body uniformly yellow, gaster usually darker; posterior margin of head with about three pairs of setae; propodeum and petiole with few erect setae; sides of mesonotum and propodeum with appressed silvery pubescence; cephalic surface superficially sculptured.

Material examined. Al Kharara-Seleiyn Road , 09.iv.2005, 24 ° 53 ’ N, 51 ° 10 ’ E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 2w, ( KSMA) .

Geographic distribution. Cataglyphis livida occupies a broad geographic range through the Palearctic region ranging from Algeria and Egypt to Afghanistan ( Radchenko, 1997 b); and extends north into Turkey and Bulgaria. It also has been reported from most countries of the Arabian Peninsula ( Collingwood 1985, Tigar and Collingwood 1993, Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Tigar and Osborne 1999, Collingwood et al. 2011).

Ecological and biological notes. Cataglyphis livida is a common species at nature reserves in Riyadh Province (e.g. Rawdhat Khorim) where the population peaks in spring and in June ( Sharaf et al. 2013). This species was found to be abundant foraging on Acacia gerrardii Benth. (Fabaceae) . This species is recorded for the first time from Qatar.

Figures

Figure 9. Cataglyphis livida, syntype worker, A, body in profile B, body in dorsal view C, head in full-face view, CASENT0911099 (Zach Lieberman), www.AntWeb.org.