Dolichoderus plagiatus

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Dolichoderus plagiatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Tribe: Dolichoderini
Genus: Dolichoderus
Species: D. plagiatus
Binomial name
Dolichoderus plagiatus
(Mayr, 1870)

Dolichoderus plagiatus casent0104779 profile 1.jpg

Dolichoderus plagiatus casent0104779 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

These ants form relatively small soil-based nests. While foraging workers are often seen on low vegetation, their nests are cryptic and can be challenging to locate.

Photo Gallery

  • Foraging worker on low vegetation. Photo by Tom Murray.
  • Worker. Photo by Tom Murray.
  • Dealate queen. Photo by Tom Murray.

Identification

Identification Keys including this Taxon

Distribution

New Brunswick, Canada westward through Ontario, Manitoba, and North Dakota. Southward in the eastern U.S., the species reaches North and South Carolina and Georgia (Smith, 1979).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 51.116655° to 34.457°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: Canada, United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Mexico.

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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Habitat

The Southern records show a preference for upland habitats and the species has not been documented in the southern Coastal Plain.

Biology

Flight Period

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

Source: antkeeping.info.

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: monogynous (Rissing and Pollock, 1988; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Dolichoderus plagiatus casent0104780 head 1.jpgDolichoderus plagiatus casent0104780 profile 1.jpgDolichoderus plagiatus casent0104780 dorsal 1.jpgDolichoderus plagiatus casent0104780 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104780. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • plagiatus. Hypoclinea plagiata Mayr, 1870b: 960 (w.) U.S.A. Wheeler, W.M. 1905d: 311 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 175 (l.). Combination in Dolichoderus: Mayr, 1886d: 436; in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1894c: 229. Senior synonym of borealis: Emery, 1895c: 330; of inornatus: Creighton, 1950a: 335. See also: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1966: 727; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1416; Johnson, C. 1989a: 3; Mackay, 1993b: 81; Shattuck, 1994: 61.
  • borealis. Dolichoderus borealis Provancher, 1888: 408 (w.) CANADA. Junior synonym of plagiatus: Emery, 1895c: 330.
  • inornatus. Dolichoderus plagiatus var. inornatus Wheeler, W.M. 1905d: 313 (w.) U.S.A. Junior synonym of plagiatus: Creighton, 1950a: 335.

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

Description

Worker

Johnson (1989) - This ant has a mottled color pattern compared to the other species. The mandibles and head are dark brown to near-black, paler in callow specimens. The antennae, alitrunk; legs and petiole are brown-orange; dorsum of the alitrunk becoming dark brown in older specimens. There are laterally-spaced spots of pale brownish-orange on the first and second segments of gaster; the remainder of gaster is dark brown.

Structurally, head and complete dorsum of alitrunk are sculptured with well-defined depressions or foveolae. The pronotum is sculptured as strongly as the mesonotum, a definitive feature for this species. Granulation of the alitrunk occurs within the depressions and the surface is essentially opaque; the reflectivity of cuticle broken into small, disjunct regions. A fine granulation occurs on the petiole, and the integument of the gaster is smooth and shining. Erect hairs are numerous on head and alitrunk; a few scattered erect hairs occur on gaster, and there are short, fine erect hairs on scapes. In dorsal view, length of propodeum exceeds its width. Integument within concavity of the declivous face of propodeum is smooth and highly reflective.

Type Material

Type locality - Illinois.

Worker Morphology

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • Caste: monomorphic

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Amstutz M. E. 1943. The ants of the Kildeer plain area of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). The Ohio Journal of Science 43(4): 165-173.
  • Blades, D.C.A. and S.A. Marshall. Terrestrial arthropods of Canadian Peatlands: Synopsis of pan trap collections at four southern Ontario peatlands. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 169:221-284
  • Canadensys Database. Dowloaded on 5th February 2014 at http://www.canadensys.net/
  • Choate B., and F. A. Drummond. 2012. Ant Diversity and Distribution (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Throughout Maine Lowbush Blueberry Fields in Hancock and Washington Counties. Environ. Entomol. 41(2): 222-232.
  • Choate B., and F. A. Drummond. 2013. The influence of insecticides and vegetation in structuring Formica Mound ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Maine lowbush blueberry. Environ. Entomol. 41(2): 222-232.
  • Clark Adam. Personal communication on November 25th 2013.
  • Cole A. C., Jr. 1949. The ants of Mountain Lake, Virginia. Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science 24: 155-156.
  • Coovert G. A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ohio Biological Survey, Inc. 15(2): 1-207.
  • Coovert, G.A. 2005. The Ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Ohio Biological Survey Bulletin New Series Volume 15(2):1-196
  • Culver D. C. 1974. Species packing in Caribbean and North Temperate ant communities. Ecology 55(5): 974-988.
  • Davis W. T., and J. Bequaert. 1922. An annoted list of the ants of Staten Island and Long Island, N. Y. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 17(1): 1-25.
  • Del Toro, I. 2010. PERSONAL COMMUNICATION. MUSEUM RECORDS COLLATED BY ISRAEL DEL TORO
  • Diethe, O. 1995. A Dolichoderus taschenbergi Queen Found in a Polygynous Colony of D. plagiatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102(3-4):147-150.
  • Drummond F. A., A. M. llison, E. Groden, and G. D. Ouellette. 2012. The ants (Formicidae). In Biodiversity of the Schoodic Peninsula: Results of the Insect and Arachnid Bioblitzes at the Schoodic District of Acadia National Park, Maine. Maine Agricultural and forest experiment station, The University of Maine, Technical Bulletin 206. 217 pages
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  • Fernandes, P.R. XXXX. Los hormigas del suelo en Mexico: Diversidad, distribucion e importancia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
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  • Ivanov, K. 2019. The ants of Ohio (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): an updated checklist. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 70: 65–87.
  • Ivanov K., L. Hightower, S. T. Dash, and J. B. Keiper. 2019. 150 years in the making: first comprehensive list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Virginia, USA. Zootaxa 4554 (2): 532–560.
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  • Johnson C. 1989. Identification and Nesting Sites of North American Species of Dolichoderus Lund (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi. 3: 1-9
  • Kannowski P. B. 1956. The ants of Ramsey County, North Dakota. American Midland Naturalist 56(1): 168-185.
  • Lubertazi, D. Personal Communication. Specimen Data from Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard
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  • MacGown, J.A and J.A. Forster. 2005. A preliminary list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Alabama, U.S.A. Entomological News 116(2):61-74
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  • Munsee J. R. 1968. Nine species of ants (Formicidae) recently recorded from Indiana. Proc. Indiana Acad. Sci. 77: 222-227.
  • Ortius D. 1995. A Dolichoderus taschenbergi queen found in a polygynous colony of D. plagiatus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 102: 147-150.
  • Ouellette G. D., F. A. Drummond, B. Choate and E. Groden. 2010. Ant diversity and distribution in Acadia National Park, Maine. Environmental Entomology 39: 1447-1556
  • Procter W. 1938. Biological survey of the Mount Desert Region. Part VI. The insect fauna. Philadelphia: Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology, 496 pp.
  • Ruhren, S. 2003. Seed Predators Are Undeterred by Nectar-Feeding Ants on Chamaecrista nictitans (Caesalpineaceae). Plant Ecology 166(2):189-198
  • Shattuck S. O. 1994. Taxonomic catalog of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae and Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 112: i-xix, 1-241.
  • Shik, J., A. Francoeur and C. Buddle. 2005. The effect of human activity on ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) richness at the Mont St. Hilaire Biosphere Reserve, Quebec. Canadian Field-Naturalist 119(1): 38-42.
  • Smith M. R., and W. A. Morrison. 1916. South Carolina ants. Entomological News 27: 110-111.
  • Sturtevant A. H. 1931. Ants collected on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Psyche (Cambridge) 38: 73-79
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  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Wang C., J. Strazanac and L. Butler. 2000. Abundance, diversity and activity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in oak-dominated mixed Appalachian forests treated with microbial pesticides. Environmental Entomology. 29: 579-586
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  • Wheeler G. C., and E. W. Wheeler. 1944. Ants of North Dakota. North Dakota Historical Quarterly 11:231-271.
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  • Wheeler W. M. 1916. Formicoidea. Formicidae. Pp. 577-601 in: Viereck, H. L. 1916. Guide to the insects of Connecticut. Part III. The Hymenoptera, or wasp-like insects, of Connecticut. Connecticut State Geological and Natural History Survey. Bulletin 22: 1-824.
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