Paratrechina longicornis ( Latreille, 1802 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Fisher, Brian L., Collingwood, Cedric A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2017, Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (5 - 6), pp. 317-378 : 330-332

Paratrechina longicornis ( Latreille, 1802)

( Figure 7 (a–c))

Formica longicornis Latreille, 1802: 113 (w.) Senegal. Afrotropical

Diagnosis

Worker. A relatively small species (TL 2.30–3.00); antennae long with 12 segments; scapes exceptionally long, when laid back from their insertions surpassing posterior margin of head by at least one-half its length; eyes close to posterior margin of head; legs extraordinarily long. Colour: head, mesosoma, petiole and gaster dark brown to blackish brown; body with faint bluish iridescence. Pilosity long, stout, scattered, suberect to erect, greyish or whitish setae.

Material examined

Yemen, Socotra Island, Qalansyia, W. Taisoh , 25 April 2014, 67 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.65880°N, 53.46988°E (7 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Dehejamo, 22 April 2014, 563 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.59049°N, 54.05205°E (25 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Haydibo , Erheno, 19 April 2014, 33 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.65023°N, 54.04016°E (14 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014, 372 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.57615°N, 54.30651°E (5 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Jo’ o, 21 April 2014, 196 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.54038°N, 54.17186°E, (6 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014, 355 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.58954°N, 54.30570°E (1 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Ayhift , 20 April 2014, 198 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.61155°N, 53.97755°E (3 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Deyishil village, 21 April 2014, 180 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.52010°N, 54.17438°E (3 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Dixam, 24 April 2014, 610 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.46557°N, 54.00247°E (1 w, KSMA) .

Geographic range

Among the region’ s most successful invasive species ( Wetterer 2008), this ant is frequently distributed by human commerce and usually found in disturbed sites. In many areas of Egypt and KSA, the senior author has observed high populations of this species where garbage and human wastes were found. It was recorded from several countries of the Arabian Peninsula, KSA ( Collingwood 1985), Yemen ( Collingwood and Agosti 1996), UAE ( Collingwood et al. 2011), Socotra ( Collingwood et al. 2004).

Ecological and biological notes

The known habitats of this species are diverse, no doubt enabling its wide distribution. We observed Paratrechina longicornis nesting in moist soil under a rock adjacent to a date palm tree. Another nest was collected from dry soil under shrub Frangula alnus Mill. (Rhamnaceae) . Many workers were found in leaf litter under a date palm tree where the soil was moist and rich in accumulated sheep and goat faeces. Several workers were foraging in leaf litter on dry soil under an Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter (Poaceae) tree, where the soil was dry. A nest was observed under a rock in moist, compacted, clay soil. Hundreds of workers were foraging in moist leaf litter and on twigs of a small shrub. Several workers were nesting under a stone in humid soil and next to banana plantations. A nest was found under a rock next to a dragon blood tree, Dracaena cinnabari Balf. f. ( Asparagaceae ). This species has been reported as a pest in greenhouses in both temperate and tropical regions ( Nylander 1856; Motschoulsky 1863).

Figures

Figure 7. Paratrechina longicornis. (a) Body in profile. (b) Head in full-face view, CASENT0746631, AntWeb.org, (Zach Lieberman). (c) Distribution map, blue circles from recent records, red circles from Collingwood et al. (2004).