Thaumastaneis montandoni Kirkaldy and Edwards 1902
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.273774 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6243391 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03AF8C09-FFD4-FF82-FF15-DE63FA7EB23B |
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treatment provided by |
Plazi |
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scientific name |
Thaumastaneis montandoni Kirkaldy and Edwards 1902 |
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Thaumastaneis montandoni Kirkaldy and Edwards 1902 View in CoL
( Figs 7–17 View FIGURES 2 – 11 View FIGURES 12 – 16 View FIGURES 17 – 19 )
Until now nothing has been reported about the biology of this species. Van Doesburg (1966) only mentioned that “the strongly ant-like appearance suggests some relation with ants”. The authors collected in Ituzaingó, Corrientes prov. ( Argentina) several adults of T. montandoni ( Fig. 17 View FIGURES 17 – 19 ) (deposited in MLP).
Scanning electron microscopy shows some structural modifications that enhance mimicry: silvery reflective hairs on lateral regions of the hemelytra ( Fig. 12 View FIGURES 12 – 16 ), pitted areas on the neck (fig. 13), and thoracic spines ( Fig. 14 View FIGURES 12 – 16 ).
Van Doesburg (1966) and Schaefer (2000) described the antennae, tibiae, and tarsi of T. montandoni as light brown or yellowish brown. These structures are reddish in the field and in recently collected specimens, although after a short time we observed they had turned to light brown.
We also note that although Schaefer (2000) described in Thaumastaneis montandoni fifth instar as having only two dorsal abdominal scent gland openings (between terga III–IV and IV–V), we find three in the adults of both species of Thaumastaneis, the third lying between terga V–VI. Moreover, the first gland appears to be functional ( Figs. 15–16 View FIGURES 12 – 16 ).
Associated with T. montandoni we collected adult workers of a species of the ant genus Camponotus ( Fig. 18 View FIGURES 17 – 19 ) ( Hymenoptera : Formicidae ), as well as an undescribed species of myrmecomorphic cricket ( Fig. 19 View FIGURES 17 – 19 ) ( Orthoptera : Trigonidiidae ). The general color of these species is black, with particular regions of the legs reddish: coxae, trochanters, and femora in the ants; femora and tarsi in the cricket. This color pattern and the antlike appearance of both the heteropteran and the orthopteran suggests the presence of a mimetic complex.
We also record Thaumastaneis montandoni for the first time from Paraguay, Dept. San Pedro, Carumbé; the specimens examined (2 males, 3 females) belong to the Instituto Miguel Lillo Entomological Collection.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.