Azteca instabilis

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Azteca instabilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Tribe: Leptomyrmecini
Genus: Azteca
Species: A. instabilis
Binomial name
Azteca instabilis
(Smith, F., 1862)

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Specimen Labels

Synonyms

The largest species in the genus. Azteca instabilis forms nests in the hollow trunks of trees which have a large crevice or fissure at the base and has large, long-lived colonies.

Identification

Longino (2007) - Azteca instabilis queens are readily identified by the large size and large ocelli. Azteca gnava and Azteca sericeasur are similarly large but have much smaller ocelli (OCW < 0.15mm). Larger workers of A. instabilis are identified by the dull dorsal surface of the mandibles, large size, and densely setose tibiae.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Mexico to Brazil.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 20.4167° to -26.84805556°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Belize, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama (type locality), Peru, Suriname.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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.
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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.
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Biology

Longino (2007) - Azteca instabilis is the largest species in the genus. It occurs in wet to dry forest habitats, usually below 500m elevation.

Azteca instabilis makes its nest in the hollow trunks of trees which have a large crevice or fissure at the base. When I encounter them, workers are issuing from the fissure in large numbers, usually ascending the tree and often blanketing the surrounding forest floor. In one case I was able to peer up into such a fissure, and I observed a very large carton nest filling the trunk cavity. Colonies can be long-lived. During extended field work at Sirena in Corcovado National Park, I frequently passed a large tree with a very active A. instabilis colony in the trunk, with workers flowing in and out of a large fissure at the base. I returned to the site 16 years later to find the same fissure with A. instabilis workers still active.

When examining Azteca queens in museum collections, A. instabilis is usually the most abundant species because the large queens frequently come to lights at night. This is in sharp contrast to most other Azteca, whose alate queens are usually encountered as diurnal strays, occasional specimens in Malaise traps, or parts of nest collections. This correlates with the fact that A. instabilis queen ocelli are absolutely and relatively far larger than ocelli on any other Azteca queen I have examined. The enlarged ocelli are not the result of an allometric relationship with head size, since Azteca sericea and Azteca sericeasur, with queens nearly as large, have tiny ocelli typical of smaller queens. Ocelli concentrate light and detect light of low intensity (Chapman 1982), suggesting a functional relationship between large ocelli and nocturnal habits.

Workers frequently forage on the surface, both day and night. They visit extrafloral nectaries, and may tend coccoid Hemiptera under small carton shelters.

DaRocha et al. (2015) studied the diversity of ants found in bromeliads of a single large tree of Erythrina, a common cocoa shade tree, at an agricultural research center in Ilheus, Brazil. Forty-seven species of ants were found in 36 of 52 the bromeliads examined. Bromeliads with suspended soil and those that were larger had higher ant diversity. A. instabilis was found in 23 different bromeliads but was associated with twigs and bark cavities, rather than suspended soil or litter, of the plants.

Flight Period

X X X X X X X X X X X X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Source: Kaspari et al., 2001.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Azteca instabilis casent0903009 h 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0903009 p 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0903009 d 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0903009 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Azteca instabilisWorker. Specimen code casent0903009. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
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Syntype of Azteca instabilis majorWorker. Specimen code casent0903010. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
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Syntype of Azteca instabilis majorWorker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0909639. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.
Azteca instabilis casent0909640 h 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0909640 p 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0909640 d 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis casent0909640 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Azteca instabilis majorWorker. Specimen code casent0909640. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.
Azteca instabilis inbiocri001280964 h 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis inbiocri001280964 p 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis inbiocri001280964 d 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis inbiocri001280964 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code inbiocri001280964. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.
Azteca instabilis jtlc000009539 h 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009539 p 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009539 d 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009539 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code jtlc000009539. Photographer Shannon Hartman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by PSWC.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Azteca instabilis jtlc000009445 h 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009445 p 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009445 p 2 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009445 d 1 high.jpgAzteca instabilis jtlc000009445 l 1 high.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code jtlc000009445. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.

Nomenclature

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

  • instabilis. Tapinoma instabilis Smith, F. 1862b: 31 (w.) PANAMA.
    • Emery, 1893b: 135 (s.); Emery, 1896b: 2 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 193 (l.).
    • Combination in Liometopum: Mayr, 1878: 870;
    • combination in Azteca: Emery, 1893b: 135.
    • Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 14; Mayr, 1863: 455; Mayr, 1878: 870; Forel, 1886a: 217; Dalla Torre, 1893: 163; Emery, 1893b: 135 (redescription); von Jhering, 1894: 379; Emery, 1896b: 2; Forel, 1899c: 107; Emery, 1906c: 174; Wheeler, W.M. 1907a: 275; Emery, 1913a: 33; Santschi, 1913h: 41; Wheeler, W.M. 1916c: 12; Crawley, 1916b: 375; Mann, 1922: 51; Borgmeier, 1923: 93; Menozzi, 1935b: 199; Wheeler, W.M. 1942: 229; Kempf, 1972a: 32; Shattuck, 1994: 19; Bolton, 1995b: 79; Longino, 2007: 35 (redescription); Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 253; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 108; Guerrero, 2019: 706.
    • Senior synonym of major: Longino, 2007: 35.
  • major. Azteca instabilis var. major Forel, 1899c: 107 (w.) PANAMA, COLOMBIA, FRENCH GUIANA.
    • Subspecies of instabilis: Forel, 1912h: 47; Emery, 1913a: 33; Kempf, 1972a: 32; Shattuck, 1994: 19; Bolton, 1995b: 79.
    • Junior synonym of instabilis: Longino, 2007: 35.

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

Description

Worker

Longino (2007) - (n=4): HLA 1.88 (1.76–2.10), HW 1.85 (1.80–2.13), SL 1.39 (1.34–1.41), CI 101 (95–102), SI 74 (67–76).

Palpal formula 6,4; middle and hind tibia with prominent pectinate apical spur; dorsal surface of mandible strongly microareolate, dull, with moderately abundant small piligerous puncta, setae in puncta short, erect, larger puncta with long setae near masticatory margin; medial and lateral clypeal lobes at about same level; head with convex sides, strongly cordate posterior margin; mesosoma in lateral profile with sloping pronotum, mesonotum forming separate convexity, posterior mesonotum and dorsal face of propodeum together forming single shallow concavity, with no notch marking metanotal groove; scape with abundant erect setae, length of setae about one half maximum width of scape; mid and hind tibia with abundant erect setae, longest setae about one half maximum width of tibia; sides of head without erect setae; posterior margin of head with abundant erect setae; pronotum, mesonotum, and dorsal face of propodeum with abundant long erect setae; color dark brown to light orange brown, if somewhat bicolored gaster is darker then mesosoma.

Queen

Longino (2007) - (n=5): HLA 2.49 (2.42–2.52), HW 2.47 (2.39–2.55), SL 1.50 (1.42–1.50), CI 100 (98–101), SI 60 (58–62).

Palpal formula 6,4; ocelli large (OCW > 0.20mm); middle and hind tibia with prominent pectinate apical spur; dorsal surface of mandible smooth, very faintly microareolate, with moderately abundant small piligerous puncta, setae in puncta short, suberect, larger puncta with long setae near masticatory margin; medial and lateral clypeal lobes at about same level (medial lobe not projecting anteriorly); head quadrate, with sides somewhat convex, cordate posteriorly; petiolar node tall, strongly compressed into thin scale at apex; posteroventral petiolar lobe evenly convex from front to back, broad and flat laterally, ending before posterior margin of sternite, leaving small rim formed by posteriormost portion of sternite; scape with abundant erect setae, about as long as one half maximum width of scape; middle and hind tibia with abundant erect setae, longest of these about as long as one half maximum width of tibia (MTSC 30–35); sides of head without erect setae; posterior margin of head with abundant erect setae; pronotum with erect setae on anterior and posterior margins, absent from medial area; mesoscutum, scutellum, and propodeum with abundant erect setae; petiolar node with variable number of long setae on apex, abundant long setae on posteroventral lobe; all gastral terga with abundant erect setae; color red brown.

Type Material

Longino (2007) - Syntype workers: Panama The Natural History Museum (examined).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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