Pheidole borgmeieri Kempf

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 381

Pheidole borgmeieri Kempf

Pheidole borgmeieri Kempf 1972d: 461.

Types Mus. Zool. Univ. Sao Paulo; Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

ETYMOLOGY Named after the Brazilian entomologist Fr. Thomas Borgmeier.

DIAGNOSIS A small member of the flavens group, most similar to nana of Brazil, differing from it and other species of the group as follows.

Major: all of head except frontal triangle and mid-clypeus covered by parallel longitudinal carinulae; the carinulae passing between the eyes and antennal fossae curve inward (mesad) as they approach the occiput, such that those from the two sides of the head meet at the midline near the occipital border; profile of promesonotum in side view forms a smooth, near-perfect semicircle; humerus extended as a prominent lobe in dorsal-oblique view; almost all of mesosoma, waist, and gaster smooth and shiny. Minor: almost all of the body smooth and shiny; propodeal spines reduced to denticles. Measurements (mm) Paratype major: HW 0.76, HL 0.78, SL 0.40, EL 0.10, PW 0.40. Paratype minor: HW 0.40, HL 0.44, SL 0.36, EL 0.06, PW 0.24.

Color Major: all of body yellow except gaster, which is a slightly contrasting light brown. Minor: mesosoma and waist light brownish yellow, head and gaster a contrasting light brown.

range The several series I have examined were all collected in Sao Paulo state, Brazil.

Biology Nests in rotting wood in rainforests.

Figure Upper: paratype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. BRAZIL: Cantazeiza, Sao Paulo (K. Lenko). Scale bars = 1 mm.