Pheidole virago Wheeler

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 604

publication ID

20017

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6274348

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D2F9B451-0197-D2A9-617D-FB2506893478

treatment provided by

Donat

scientific name

Pheidole virago Wheeler
status

 

Pheidole virago Wheeler View in CoL   HNS

Pheidole virago Wheeler   HNS 1915b: 401.

types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology L virago   HNS , female warrior.

Diagnosis A very large, reddish brown (major) to reddish yellow (minor) member of the pilifera   HNS group. Major: anterior third of head completely carinulate, with some carinulae that originate on the frontal lobes almost reaching the occiput; pronotum and mesonotal convexity completely covered by transverse carinulae; in dorsal-oblique view, promesonotal profile evenly trilobous; a small metanotal convexity present; the propodeal spines large and perpendicular to the basal propodeal face; postpetiole seen from above very broad and conulate.

Minor: dorsal surface of head and sides of mesosoma longitudinally carinulate; pronotal dorsum covered by a mix of longitudinal carinulae and rugulae; propodeal spines perpendicular to basal propodeal face; dorsal margin of petiolar node strongly convex; postpetiolar node depressed.

Measurements (mm) Lectotype major: HW 2.02, HL 2.20, SL 0.84, EL 0.20, PW 0.90. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.66, SL 0.64, EL 0.12, PW 0.40. Color Major: concolorous light reddish brown. Minor: reddish yellow.

Range Texas to Arizona.

Biology Extremely rare. Wheeler's type series were from nests in open sandy soil, marked by 1-cm-wide entrances surrounded by craters of sandy soil 8 to 12 cm across. Ingham (1959, 1963; unpublished theses quoted by Alfred 1982), reported virago   HNS at 900 m in southern Utah, in desert and semidesert, variously with creosote bush, bur sage, rabbitbrush, cholla, marigold, and Russian thistle, forming crater nests in open soil. However, the Utah records are doubtful and need field confirmation.

Figure Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. ARIZONA: Santa Cruz River, Tucson (W. M. Wheeler). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Pheidole

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