Pheidole biolleyi Forel

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press : 170

Pheidole biolleyi Forel

Pheidole biolleyi Forel 1908c: 48. Syn.: Pheidole biolleyi tristani Forel 1908c: 50, n. syn. The syntypes of biolleyi used in the figure, and which are housed in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard, are from La Palma, 1600 m. The type locality given by Forel is "Costa del Tablazo," which Longino (1997) suggests is the same as Cerro Tablazo, located at about 1500 m near Cartago. There are differences between my drawings of the La Palma specimens and Longino's photographs in the shapes of the head and postpetiole, but otherwise the series appear close and I am treating them as conspecific. The tristani syntypes (Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve) vary in head shape in the same way, and otherwise appear identical to the La Palma biolleyi syntypes.

Types Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve; Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

etymology Named after the collector, Paul Biolley.

diagnosis This species appears to be intermediate between the biconstricta and diligens groups, and is therefore placed in the latter only tentatively. It is distinguished in the major by variable 2- or 4-dentate hypostoma (as in biconstricta ), smaller size, absence of a rugoreticulum on the head, smooth first gastral tergite, and abundant, subappressed hairs on the first gastral tergite. Measurements (mm) Syntype major: HW 1.14, HL 1.22, SL 0.94, EL 0.16, PW 0.60. Syntype minor: HW 0.64, HL 0.78, SL 1.00, EL 0.16, PW 0.44. color Major: concolorous light orange. Minor: concolorous light brownish yellow.

range P. biolleyi occurs in the upland Central Valley of Costa Rica around Cartago and Monteverde.

Biology According to Longino (1997), colonies of biolleyi inhabit cloud forests, where they nest in the soil. He has observed workers foraging both on the ground and in low vegetation.

figure Upper: syntype, major. Lower: syntype, minor. COSTA RICA: La Palma, 1600 m. Scale bars = 1 mm.