Strumigenys lewisi Cameron, 1886

Tang, Kit Lam & Guénard, Benoit, 2023, Further additions to the knowledge of Strumigenys (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) within South East Asia, with the descriptions of 20 new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 907, pp. 1-144 : 79-80

Strumigenys lewisi Cameron, 1886

Table 2

Strumigenys lewisi Cameron, 1886: 229 (w.q.) JAPAN. Palearctic.

Strumigenys lewisi – Bingham 1903: 149 (revived status as species). — Brown 1949b: 16 (revived status as species).

non Strumigenys godeffroyi – Mayr 1887: 569 (footnote); 1897: 431. — Dalla Torre 1893: 146 . — Emery 1895: 473; 1897: 575; 1924: 321. — Forel 1903: 707. — Wheeler 1906: 318; 1923: 4; 1928a: 27; 1928b: 115; 1930: 71; 1935: 33. — Yano 1910: 420. — Teranishi 1940: 36. — Azuma 1950: 35. — Chapman & Capco 1951: 108.

Material examined

MAINLAND CHINA – Guangxi Province • 1 worker; Damingshan; 13 May 1997; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 2 workers; Dawangling, Longuo; 1180 m a.s.l.; 6 Aug. 1999; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 1 worker; Dayaoshan, Luoxiang Cun; 23 Sep. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 1 worker; Dayaoshan, Yinchan; 16 Sep. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 3 workers; same collection data as for preceding; HKBM • 1 worker; Huaping, Cujiang; 19 Aug. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 1 worker, 1 queen; Huaping, Cujiang; 20 Aug. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 2 workers; Huaping, Hongtan; 17 Aug. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 1 worker; Huaping; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM ANTWEB1015018 • 1 worker; Longhushan; 16 Oct. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 1 worker; Maoershan, Bajiaotian; 22 Aug. 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM • 2 workers; Nonggang, Dalong; 22 May 1998; J. Fellowes leg.; HKBM .

JAPAN – Satsunan Islands • 1 queen; Amami Ōshima, Takabachiyama ; 480 m a.s.l.; 5 Mar. 2017; Sk. Yamane leg.; hand collection; KUM • 4 workers; Amami Ōshima, Yuwandake ; 500–570 m a.s.l.; 25 Jun. 2016; K. Yamamuro leg.; KUM .

Geographic range

Native: mainland China, Japan, North Korea, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam.

Introduced: Georgia, Hawaii, Malta (dubious, see comments below).

Ecology

Collected in both closed and open broadleaf forest, from elevations up to 1180 m.

Comments

One of the most widespread and well-documented species of Strumigenys in Asia, with its geographical range including central to northern provinces of mainland China (as far as Beijing) and North Korea, which are often void of any record of Strumigenys . Its presence in Chinese provinces such as Hainan, Hebei, Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi is likely. Records from Myanmar need confirmation ( Bolton 2000), while past records from India have been excluded ( Bharti et al. 2016). Similarly, several records of this species outside its native range such as in Malta and Georgia in Europe most likely represent misidentifications ( Hamer et al. 2021). Records from the Philippines ( Way et al. 1998) would also need to be confirmed.