Attaphila flava Gurney, 1937

Bohn, Horst, Nehring, Volker, G., Jonathan Rodriguez & Klass, Klaus-Dieter, 2021, Revision of the genus Attaphila (Blattodea: Blaberoidea), myrmecophiles living in the mushroom gardens of leaf-cutting ants, Arthropod Systematics & amp; Phylogeny 79, pp. 205-280 : 205

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/asp.79.e67569

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5BE5330D-71CA-4F12-BB2E-C7B29A5C33B2

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3F54CA42-03F8-5F8B-9B21-03DD37006B60

treatment provided by

Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny by Pensoft

scientific name

Attaphila flava Gurney, 1937
status

 

4.3. Attaphila flava Gurney, 1937 View in CoL

Figs 3E, F View Figure 3 (A–J) , 5I View Figure 5 , 8D View Figure 8 , 15C View Figure 15 , 25C View Figure 25 , 26A View Figure 26

Attaphila flava Gurney, 1937: 106, fig. 9; Princis 1963: 111.

Material studied.

Holotype, 1♂, British Honduras, Belize, Botanic Gardens , 11.VII.1904, P.G.Goll Type No. 52014 U.S. N.M. (abdomen and legs on two slides: Bo 1280) (M. Washington).

Diagnosis.

Male The type specimen of A. flava is very similar to the male of A. fungicola and only shows slight differences in few characters: tegmina with apical border slightly convex, less oblique, surface bristles less strong; hook of left phallomere from the wide sclerotised base more gradually narrowing into a shorter neck, endophallic apodeme near its posterior base less strongly narrowed; and it has a different, though unknown host species.

Description.

Size Length of body (dried): male 2.83 mm. Surface bristles of tergites 2-5 dispersed, not arranged in transversal rows (Fig. 8D View Figure 8 ). Transversal ridges tr2-5 without distinct small excurvations to the anterior (Fig. 8D View Figure 8 ; compare grey arrows in Fig. 11A View Figure 11 ), but male tr2 posteriorly of the specialisations with a wide excurvation to the posterior, mesally followed by a wide, very shallow excurvation to the anterior (grey arrows in Fig. 8D View Figure 8 ).

Male Tegmina (Fig. 3E, F View Figure 3 (A–J) ) widest at about 1/2 of length; slightly obtusely wedge-shaped due to the converging course of the basalmost part of the posterior border and the apical border, both connected in a rather wide curvature; posterior border with a slight concavity near the tegmen base, oblique apical border throughout slightly convex; surface bristles fine. Hindwings fairly rhombic, with obtuse apex. Glandular pores on T2-5 (and perhaps T1) in the area between the transversal ridge and the anterior border, dispersed, in moderately high density (Fig. 5I View Figure 5 ). Tergite 1 without specialisations (occurrence of long bristles could not be studied for T1; they are present on T2-5). Tergite 2 along anterior border with a pair of specialisations (msl2) consisting of a shallow, narrow transversal trough the bottom of which is patterned by low crossing ridges (Figs 5I View Figure 5 , 8D View Figure 8 ; very similar to those of A. fungicola ). Tergites 6,7: (Fig. 15C View Figure 15 ) Median lobe of T7 very short, but distinct; transversal ridge tr6 well developed, tr7 absent; posterior border of T6 and T7 with a relatively dense row of very short and thin bristles much smaller than those of the respective lateral borders; surface of T6 and T7 only with few isolated and very small bristles, still smaller than those of the posterior borders. Subgenital lobe: (Figs 25C View Figure 25 , 26A View Figure 26 ) distal part with a deep excavation each along left side and right side; lobe posterior to level of excavations narrowly tongue-shaped and presumably inclined leftward (tip of lobe not retained in specimen); only left stylus present (sll), which is quite conical, inserted at base of left excavation; at the base of the right excavation with a group of short and strong bristles; stylus with few rather long and thin bristles. Phallomeres: (Figs 25C View Figure 25 , 26A View Figure 26 ) Sclerotised part of hook (h) from the short, wide base (b) gradually narrowing into a slender neck (n; shorter than in A. fungicola ) with a hardly curved proximal part, terminating in a slightly wider claw part (cl). Endophallic apodeme (ea) slightly narrowed at base (forking site of sclerite). Relative to the axis of the endophallic apodeme (ea), the virga (vi) shows a weak, very shallow sinusoidal curvature to the left, its apical part being hardly curved (back into the ea -axis) and gradually narrowed to a rather acute tip, distinctly more acute than in A. paucisetosa ; virga likely longitudinally grooved. Paraprocts: Both lacking a sclerotised projection.

Female Unknown.

Distribution.

Only known from the type locality Belize, Belize City.

Host species.

Unknown, certainly not Atta texana as in A. fungicola since the distribution of this ant species does not reach further south than northeast Mexico. In view of the great similarity of A. flava with A. fungicola , its host is likely an Atta species. It could be Atta cephalotes , the only species of Atta , Acromyrmex , and Amoimyrmex so far reported for Belize (according to https://antwiki.org and https://www.antweb.org, both accessed on 19.i.2021), although Acromyrmex echinatior is known from all neighbouring countries (https://www.antweb.org).

Remarks.

In the description of A. flava Gurney (1937) only noted one difference to A. fungicola , the very short subgenital plate (his fig. 9). But the subgenital plate of the type specimen is damaged and missing its apical part (Figs 25C View Figure 25 , arrow in 26A); it might have been of the same length and shape as in A. fungicola (Fig. 26B View Figure 26 ). In view of the weak differences between the males of A. flava and A. fungicola one might have doubts whether the type specimen of A. flava really represents a separate species. But as long as neither the corresponding female nor the full shape of the subgenital plate is known, synonymisation with A. fungicola appears unjustified.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Blattodea

SuperFamily

Blaberoidea

Family

Ectobiidae

Genus

Attaphila

Loc

Attaphila flava Gurney, 1937

Bohn, Horst, Nehring, Volker, G., Jonathan Rodriguez & Klass, Klaus-Dieter 2021
2021
Loc

Attaphila flava

Gurney 1937
1937