Solenopsis punctaticeps Mayr
Type location South Africa (Mayr, 1865: 109, worker;
Forel, 1901e: 431, queen & male); subspecies caffra (Forel,
1894b: 99, worker & queen; with junior synonyms cyclops,
Santschi, 1914e: 19, illustrated, soldier & worker; and diversipilosa,
Mayr, 1901b: 15, worker) all from South Africa, cleptomana
(Santschi, 1914b: 80, worker) from Kenya, erythraea (Emery,
1915c: 64, illustrated, worker) from Eritrea (not Ethiopia
as given in Bolton, 1995), fur (Santschi, 1926b: 230,
worker, queen & male) from Zimbabwe, indocilis
(Santschi, 1914d: 355, worker & queen) from Guinea
collected at Mamou, by F. Silvestri; juba (Weber,
1943c: 362, illustrated, worker & queen) from Sudan,
and kibaliensis (Wheeler, 1922: 164, worker & male)
from Zaïre; all forms known (see Bolton, 1995)
 .
Mayr's (1865) description is at
 .
Forel's (1894b) description of caffra is at
 .
Mayr's (1901b) description of diversipilosa is at
 .
Forel's (1901e) description of the queen and male is at
 .
Arnold (1916: 243) gave an illustrated translation, this is at
and  .
Santschi's (1914b) description of cleptomana is at
 .
Santschi's (1914e) illustrated description of cyclops is
at  .
Emery's (1915g) illustrated description of erythraea is at
 .
Emery (1915c) considered the various varieties then known, with
illustrations; this is on :-
,  ,
and  .
Santschi's (1926b) description of fur is at
 .
Weber's (1943c) description of juba is at
 .
|
 Santschi
(1935) noted a single worker from Kindu, Zaïre,
collected by Dr Gerard. Earlier (1914d) he noted indocilis
as TL 1.8-3.0; head and thorax reddish-yellow, remainder yellow.
Pilosity quite regular, slightly shorter on the tibiae; head
squarer; petiole a little wider at the base and with a shorter
pedicel, summit narrower; 7 workers, 5 queens.
Wheeler (1922) described kibaliensis as living in small
craters in the soil and seen feeding on dead insects. The species
appears to have rectangular heads, with straight sides, rather
longer than broad in the smallest individuals, workers TL 2-2.8
mm. His description follows -
WORKER - Length 2 to 2.8 mm. Apparently less polymorphic than
the typical punctaticeps and the subspecies caffra
Forel and therefore more like the subspecies erythraea
Emery. Head in all the individuals rectangular, with straight
sides, as broad in front as behind, not longer than broad in the
largest, distinctly longer in the smallest individuals. Median
teeth of the clypeus long and slender, lateral teeth obsolete or
indicated only by feeble projections. Petiolar node broader than
the petiole, its upper border straight and transverse. Sculpture
much as in typical punctaticeps and the hairs almost as
abundant as in that form, but much shorter and less erect,
especially on the head. Color yellowish brown, legs and antennae
yellow; mandibular teeth dark brown. Small workers scarcely paler.
MALE - Length 4.3 mm. (Typical form, black, TL 5 mm] Head with
very large eyes and ocelli, the latter extremely prominent;
without the mandibles broader than long. Mandibles with 3
denticles. Antennal scapes nearly as long as the first two
funicular joints together. Thorax broadly elliptical, slightly
flattened above, only slightly longer than broad, much broader
than the head. Propodeum bluntly subangular in profile, the base
distinctly longer than the declivity. Nodes of petiole very low,
rounded. Wings rather long; legs very slender. Smooth and shining;
head subopaque and finely longitudinally striate behind. Hairs
sparser and more reclinate than in the worker. Brown; head black
around the ocelli; mandibles, antennae and legs yellowish. Wings
rather opaque brownish hyaline, with very distinct brown veins and
pterostigma.
Described from twenty workers and a single male from
Vankerckhovenville (Lang & Chapin), on the Kibali River or
Upper Uele. The specimens were living in small craters in the soil
and were seen feeding on dead insects. |
The photomontage is collated from
http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0005921.
Locality: South Africa: Kwazulu Natal; Good Hope Estate,
10.1 km W 281° Boston; 29°41'42"S 029°55'24"E
1550m
Collection Information: Collection codes: BLF1793 Date: 25-30 Aug
1998
Collected by: B.L.Fisher Method: ES11 under stone
Habitat: grassland
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