Pheidole stulta

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 758

Pheidole stulta Forel

Pheidole stulta Forel 1886b: xlvi. Syn.: Pheidole championi Forel 1899e: 72, n. syn.; Pheidole championi var. sima Forel 1912g: 234, n.syn. (See note in the Diagnosis below.)

Types Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve.

Etymology L stulta , fool, allusion unknown.

Diagnosis A large, yellow, sparsely sculptured member of the tristis group.

Major: very prominent, subangulate, pronotal humerus in dorsal-oblique view, no sculpturing behind the posterior half of the head or any part of the body; a cornulate postpetiolar node; and a small but conspicuous rounded subpostpetiolar process. The Colombia syntype major I examined has longitudinal carinulae extending midway up to the center of the dorsum of the head, as opposed to the complete absence of such carinulae in the Panama specimen figured. Further series may indicate that the Central American populations are a distinct species, in which case they would receive the name championi Forel.

Similar to absurda , alpinensis , exarata , excubitor , germaini , gibba , grandinodus , obrima , rogeri , spininodis , tristis , and zoster , differing in details of body form, sculpturing, and pilosity, as illustrated, and color.

Measurements (mm) Syntype major (Colombia): HW 1.84, HL 2.26, SL 0.84, EL 0.18, PW 0.94.

Minor (Barro Colorado Island, Panama): HW 0.60, HL 0.66, SL 0.66, EL 0.06, PW 0.38.

Color Major: light reddish yellow.

Minor: medium yellow.

Range As broadly construed, stulta ranges from Bahia in Brazil to Panama.

Biology Colonies have been found in a tropical forest (Panama) and coffee plantation at 850 m (Colombia); a nest was found on Barro Colorado in a "well rotted log" (L. Hane, collection note).

figure Upper: major. Lower: minor. PANAMA: Barro Colorado Island (L. Hane). (Major compared with stulta syntype from Colombia; queens from the Barro Colorado and syntype series were also matched.) (Type locality: Caravelas, Bahia, Brazil.) Scale bars = 1 mm.