Pheidole davisi Wheeler

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 574

Pheidole davisi Wheeler

Pheidole davisi Wheeler 1905j: 380.

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Eponymous.

Diagnosis A small brown member of the pilifera group distinguished by the following traits.

Major: mesonotal convexity small, obtuse-subangular; metanotal groove absent, with metanotal profile forming a continuous line with that of the basal propodeal face; mesonotal dorsum, mesopleuron, and side of propodeum covered with longitudinal carinulae, foveolate, and opaque; pronotal dorsum transversely and pronotal sides longitudinally carinulate, foveolate, and opaque.

Minor: mesopleuron and side of propodeum longitudinally carinulate; all of mesosoma foveolate and opaque.

Close to adrianoi of Florida but differing in the above and other characters.

Measurements (mm) Paratype major: HW 0.98, HL 0.96, SL 0.44, EL 0.12, PW 0.46.

Paratype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.46, SL 0.42, EL 0.08, PW 0.30.

Color Major: body light reddish to yellowish brown.

Minor: body concolorous dark reddish brown; antennae yellowish brown.

Range In the United States, davisi has been recorded from New York to North Carolina and northern Alabama. I have also identified a series collected by Stuart and Jarmila Kukalova-Peck from the Mesa de Chipinque Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, in northeastern Mexico. The species thus appears to have a disjunct distribution between the southeastern U.S. and northeastern Mexico, of the kind known in many other animal and plant species.

Biology In the eastern United States, davisi is typically an inhabitant of pine barrens, where it has been found in crater nests constructed in open sandy areas exposed to the sun. Its habitat in Mexico is unknown. Colonies have been observed to harvest seeds (Stefan Cover).

figure Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. NEW JERSEY: Lakehurst. Scale bars = 1 mm.