Aenictus nganduensis

Aenictus nganduensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dorylinae
Genus:	Aenictus
Species:	A. nganduensis
Binomial name
Aenictus nganduensis Wilson, 1964 Specimen Labels

Nothing is known about the biology of Aenictus nganduensis.

Identification

A member of the ceylonicus group.

Key to Aenictus species groups

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -7.199999809° to -7.333333333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Biology

Explore Overview of Aenictus biology  Little is known about the biology of Aenictus nganduensis. The genus is comprised of species that live an army ant lifestyle. Aenictus typically prey on other ants, from other genera, or other insects such as wasps or termites. There are reports of Aenictus preying on other insects as well and even have been observed collecting honeydew from homopterans (Santschi, 1933; Gotwald, 1995) but this appears, at least from available evidence, to be uncommon. Foraging raids can occur day or night across the ground surface. Occasionally raids are arboreal. During a raid numerous workers attack a single nest or small area, with several workers coordinating their efforts to carry large prey items back to the nest or bivouac. Aenictus have a nomadic life style, alternating between a migratory phase in which nests are temporary bivouacs in sheltered places above the ground and a stationary phase where semi-permanent underground nests are formed. During the nomadic phase bivouacs move regularly, sometimes more than once a day when larvae require large amounts of food. Individual nests usually contain up to several thousand workers, although nest fragments containing only a few hundred workers are often encountered. Queens are highly specialised and look less like workers than in most ant species. They have greatly enlarged gasters (dichthadiform) and remain flightless throughout their life. New colonies are formed by the division of existing colonies (fission) rather than by individual queens starting colonies on their own. ‎

Castes

Known only from the worker caste.

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0281957. Photographer Shannon Hartman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Wilson 1964 Army Ant fig 45-50

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• nganduensis. Aenictus nganduensis Wilson, 1964a: 470, figs. 47, 48 (w.) NEW GUINEA (Papua New Guinea).
  • Type-material: holotype worker, 1 paratype worker.
  • Type-locality: holotype Papua New Guinea, Huon Peninsula, Mongi-Mape Watershed, Nganduo, 1955, no. 738, midmountain rainforest (E.O. Wilson); paratype with same data.
  • Type-depository: MCZC.
  • Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 60.
  • Distribution: Papua New Guinea.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Holotype: HW 0.58 mm, HL 0.61 mm, SL 0.53 mm. Antenna 10-segmented. Mandibles narrow, 3-toothed; in closure a gap remains between their posterior border and the anterior clypeal border nearly as wide as the maximum mandibular width. Clypeus shallowly concave, unarmed. Parafrontal ridge absent. Occiput convex, lacking collar. Propodeal junction acutely angulate. Subpetiolar process large, consisting of an acutely angular, forward-directed flange. Pilosity moderately abundant; length of longest pronotal hairs about 0.20mm.

Head shining. Pronotum and mesonotum shining. Remainder of mesosoma microreticulate (reticular diameters about 0.01 mm) and opaque. Mesopleuron in addition bearing 3 coarse longitudinal rugae. Dorsum of postpetiole shining; remainder of pedicel microreticulate and opaque.

Paratype: HW 0.56 mm, HL 0.61 mm, SL 0.51 mm. Nearly identical to holotype.

Type Material

Type locality: Nguanduo, 1000 m, Mongi-Mape Watershed, Huon Peninsula, NE New Guinea, midmountain rain forest (Wilson, acc. No. 738).

References

• Wilson, E. O. 1964a. The true army ants of the Indo-Australian area (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae). Pac. Insects 6: 427-483 (page 470, figs. 47, 48 worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Borowiec M. L. 2016. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dorylinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 608: 1–280.
• CSIRO Collection
• Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.
• Wilson E. O. 1964. The true army ants of the Indo-Australian area (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae). Pacific Insects 6: 427-483.