Oecodoma

Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London: British Museum : 183-184

publication ID

8127

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6297280

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/8503E676-D2E2-B5DF-9023-8278429E8DEF

treatment provided by

Donat

scientific name

Oecodoma
status

 

3. OECODOMA SEXDENTATA   HNS . Pl. X. fig. 19. B.M.

Formica sexdens, Linn.   HNS Syst. Nat. i. 964. 14 [[worker]].

Fabr. Syst. Ent. 395. 23; Ent. Syst. ii. 363. 23.

De Geer, Ins. iii. 608. pl. 31. t. 14.

Oliv. Encycl. Meth. vi. 500. Formica sexdentata, Latr.   HNS Hist. Nat. Fourm. 228. Atta sexdens, Fabr.   HNS Syst. Piez. 422. 2.

Hab. Cayenne; Surinam; Para; Rio; South America; St. Vincent's.

This is probably the large form of the worker of Oecodoma abdominalis   HNS , that which follows being the smaller form of the same species.

The Rev. Hamlet Clark says of this species: " Twenty years ago it was not known at Rio, except by name, as a pest in the Minas district; during this time it has been gradually advancing across the country, or rather under the country, establishing everywhere colonies; and now, within the last two or three years, it has reached the Organ Mountains, where I found it in two localities. Mr. Heath, the proprietor of Constancia, has used all means to exterminate it, but without the least success; sometimes in a single night it will strip a whole orange or lemon tree of its leaves; a ditch of water round his garden which quite keeps out all other ants, is of no use: this species carries a mine below its bed without any difficulty, - indeed I have been assured again and again by sensible men, that it has undermined, in its progress through the country, the great river Paraiba, as broad as the Thames at London Bridge; at any rate, without anything like a natural or artificial bridge, it appears on the other side, and continues its course. Its food is principally vegetable- leaves of trees and plants. I have seldom, if ever, seen it carry- ing flies, as other ants do, to its burrow - always slices of leaf."

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

GBIF Dataset (for parent article) Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF