Pheidole midas, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 324

publication ID

20017

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6274879

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A379EDAA-19D7-4C31-5C3E-0FCB0F848AF2

treatment provided by

Donat

scientific name

Pheidole midas
status

new species

Pheidole midas   HNS new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Gr Midas, mythical king whose touch turned everything to gold; with reference to the color of the workers.

Diagnosis A small yellow member of the fallax   HNS group characterized by the following combination of traits. Major: head heart-shaped; pilosity over all of body, and especially clypeus, mesosoma, waist, and gaster, very long, dense, and erect to suberect; a large-celled patch of rugoreticulum present to the side and behind each antennal fossa; carinulae on head and body almost entirely limited to the anterior half of the head, with most of the frontal lobes bare.

Minor: occiput broad, lacking nuchal collar; pilosity very long and mostly erect to suberect; only carinulae present are the circular ones around the antennal fossae, and foveolation is limited to the meso- and metathorax and propodeum, with the rest of the body smooth and shiny.

Similar to aenescens   HNS , alienata   HNS , bergi   HNS , chrysops   HNS , cordiceps   HNS , and nesiota   HNS , as described and illustrated. Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.92, HL 0.88, SL 0.74, EL 0.14, PW 0.46. Paratype minor: HW 0.50, HL 0.62, SL 0.70, EL 0.10, PW 0.34. Color Major and minor: concolorous medium yellow.

Range Known from the type locality (Trinidad) as well as series from Panama, Colombia, Brazil (Para), Peru, and Ecuador.

Biology Stefan Cover collected the type colony from a nest in a rotting stick on the floor of montane rainforest.

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. TRINIDAD: Aripo Ridge, Arima Valley, 550-650 m (Stefan Cover and Mark W. Moffett). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Pheidole

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