Pheidole Westwood

Ward, P. S., 2005, A synoptic review of the ants of California (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 936, pp. 1-68 : 35

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.171144
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6268896
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/9E2AA724-FFF4-FFF7-FEBF-FDFCC65FFC4B
treatment provided by	Plazi (2016-05-09 22:14:59, last updated 2024-11-26 16:53:54)
scientific name	Pheidole Westwood
status

Treatment

Genus Pheidole Westwood View in CoL

This is one of the world’s largest ant genera, with more than 600 species recognized in the New World alone ( Wilson 2003). The native California Pheidole are all grounddwelling species, found in open, dry habitats. A few of the species are generalized scavengers, but most belong to a group of seedharvesting specialists, the P. pilifera group, with fifteen species in the state. There are also three introduced species, currently of limited distribution and confined to urban areas.

Species identification: keys in Gregg (1959), Wheeler and Wheeler (1986g) and Wilson (2003). Additional references: Clark et al. (1986), Cole (1956c), Creighton and Gregg (1955), Davidson (1977a), Johnson (2000a, 2000b, 2001), Langen et al. (2000), Martinez (1992, 1996, 1997), Snelling (1992b), Snelling and George (1979), Ward (2000), Wheeler and Wheeler (1973e).

References

Clark, W. H., Blom, P. E. & Lowman, A. M. (1986) Contents of a nest of the desert ant, Pheidole grallipes Wheeler, in Baja California, Mexico. Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 62, 99 - 102.

Langen, T. A., Tripet, F. & Nonacs, P. (2000) The red and the black: habituation and the dear-enemy phenomenon in two desert Pheidole ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 48, 285 - 292.

Cole, A. C., Jr. (1956 c) Observations of some members of the genus Pheidole in the southwestern United States with synonymy (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science, 31, 112 - 118.

Creighton, W. S. & Gregg, R. E. (1955) New and little-known species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. University of Colorado Studies. Series in Biology, 3, 1 - 46.

Davidson, D. W. (1977 a) Species diversity and community organization in desert seed-eating ants. Ecology, 58, 711 - 724.

Gregg, R. E. (1959 ( 1958 )) Key to the species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States. Journal of the New York Entomological Society, 66, 7 - 48.

Johnson, R. A. (2000 a) Seed-harvester ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of North America: an overview of ecology and biogeography. Sociobiology, 36, 89 - 122 + 83 - 88.

Johnson, R. A. (2000 b) Seed harvesting species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology, 36, 597.

Johnson, R. A. (2001) Biogeography and community structure of North American seed-harvesting ants. Annual Review of Entomology, 46, 1 - 29.

Martinez, M. J. (1992) A new ant introduction for North America: Pheidole teneriffana (Forel) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 68, 153 - 154.

Martinez, M. J. (1996) The first North American record for the ant Pheidole fervens Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 72, 171 - 172.

Martinez, M. J. (1997) The first record of the ant Pheidole moerens Wheeler from the western United States (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Pan-Pacific Entomologist, 73, 46.

Snelling, R. R. & George, C. D. (1979) The taxonomy, distribution and ecology of California desert ants. Report to California Desert Plan Program, Bureau of Land Management, U. S. Dept. Interior. 335 pp. + 89 pp.

Snelling, R. R. (1992 b) A newly adventive ant of the genus Pheidole in southern California (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences, 91, 121 - 125.

Wheeler, G. C. & Wheeler, J. (1973 e) Ants of Deep Canyon. University of California, Riverside, California, xiii + 162 pp.

Wheeler, G. C. & Wheeler, J. (1986 g) The ants of Nevada. Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, vii + 138 pp.

Wilson, E. O. (2003) Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [ix] + 794 pp.