| Pseudomyrmex pallidus | |
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worker
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| Species: | pallidus
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Pseudomyrmex pallidus is a Nearctic species of ant with an extensive range throughout the southern United States to Central America.
Morphology edit
Workers are yellow, orange, or brown. They are slender with large eyes, short antennal scapes and a well developed sting. [1], [2]. Head widths measure between 0.68-0.89 millimeters. The surface of the head is shiny, due to the lack of a fine hairy covering.
Habitat and diet edit
Nests of this species are found in the hollow stems of dead grasses. Although they show a preference for herbaceous plants, nests have also been found in the dead stems of woody twigs.[1]. Nests are generally found at the intersection of grassy and wooded habitats, possibly due to shading from the canopy in warmer months and exposure to sunlight in colder months. [3] The entrance to the colony consists of a round to oblong entrance measuring between 1 to 2 millimeters on the face of the stem, and can easily be plugged by the body of a single worker to prevent access to the brood by predators. [3]. Stems containing P.pallidus are between 0.5 to 1 centimeter in diameter, and the excavated chambers are anywhere between 11.8 to 72 centimeters long. Colonies reared in the laboratory will readily accept sucrose solution and dead insect parts as a food source, which suggest that their diet in the field consist of floral secretions such as nectar and animal prey. Food stores are not found in nests collected in the feild, neither are they found in colonies raised in laboratory observation nests. This implies that any food brought into the nest is directly fed to nestmates and larvae [3].
Colony structure edit
Colonies are facultatively polygynous [1], [4], consisting of 1-15 queen ants and 20-200 workers. Colonies are also polydomous, where a colony consists of more than one nest site. Queenless colonies containing only brood and workers have been found, suggesting that these function as auxillary brood rearing sites [3]. Workers are produced throughout the year, as are reproductive females. However, males appear to only be produced during the summer and the fall seasons, as they are absent from nests collected in the winter [3].
References edit
- ^ a b c Ward PS. 1985. The Neartic species of the genus Pseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Quaestiones Entomologicae 21: 209-246
- ^ Blum MS, Callahan PS. 1963. The venom and poison glands of Pseudomyrmex pallidus (F. Smith). Psyche 70(2): 69-74
- ^ a b c d e Baldrigde RS and DeGraffenreid J. 1988. Pseudomyrmexsp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nesting in mimosa (Albizia julibrissen Dur.) The Southwestern naturalist 33(1): 112-114
- ^ 13. Debout G, Schatz B, Elias M, McKay D. 2007. Polydomy in ants: what we know, what we think we know, and what remains to be done. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 90: 319-348
External links edit
