Myrmica inezae

Myrmica inezae
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Myrmicini
Genus:	Myrmica
Species:	M. inezae
Binomial name
Myrmica inezae Forel, 1902 Specimen Label

Colonies of Myrmica inezae were found nesting under stones and in rotten logs at shady places. These areas are covered with Cedrus and Pinus trees with very dense ground vegetation. Lowest and highest air temperature observed at the collection site was 21.4°C and 30°C, respectively, the nest temperature never exceeding 17°C. Humidity of the collection site ranged from 54% to 79%. Alates appear in June and July. The altitudinal range for this species is 1900-3000m above mean sea level. (Bharti et al., 2016)

Identification

A member of the inezae group. M. inezae is a very conspicuous species, belonging to the inezae species group. Even though this species was described only from a single worker, it so well differs from any other known Myrmica species that we had no .trouble attributing the non-type material to this species. Its main features are the coarse transversal rugosity on the alitrunk dorsum combined with long propodeal spines and a long petiole having a very long and thin peduncle. (Radchenko and Elmes 2010)

Keys including this Species

• Key to Myrmica inezae species group
• Key to Myrmica of the Himalaya and Afghanistan

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 22.4667° to 22.4667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India (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.

Castes

Males have not been collected.

Nomenclature

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

• inezae. Myrmica inezae Forel, 1902c: 226 (w.) INDIA. Radchenko & Elmes, 2002: 37 (q.). See also: Bingham, 1903: 268; Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 153.

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

Type Material

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Holotype. w, "Himalaya, Pachmarchi (Schurr)" (GENEVA);

Etymology

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Forel's eldest daughter was called Inez and although he did not specifically say so, this species was most probably dedicated to her; the name is derived from Greek and means chaste. Forel also gave :this name to species in two other genera.

References

• Bharti, H. & Sharma, Y.P. 2013. Three new species of genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Himalaya. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 16, 123–130.
• Bharti, H., Bharti, M., Kaur, P., Kaur, J. 2023. On the description of the larval stages of Myrmica inezae Forel, 1902 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), an endemic Himalayan species, with notes on its natural history. Sociobiology 70(3), e9977 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v70i3.9977).
• Bharti, H., Sasi, S., Radchenko, A. 2016. Biogeography and ecology of Myrmica species (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Himalayan regions. Sociobiology 63, 956-975 (DOI 10.13102/sociobiology.v63i3.1145).
• Bingham, C. T. 1903. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera, Vol. II. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis, 506 pp. (page 268, see also)
• Forel, A. 1902c. Myrmicinae nouveaux de l'Inde et de Ceylan. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 165-249 (page 226, worker described)
• Liu, C., Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Liu, Q., Peng, Y.Q., Economo, E.P., Guénard, B., Pierce, N.E. 2020. Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot. ZooKeys 978, 1–171 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.978.55767).
• Radchenko, A. G.; Elmes, G. W. 2002. First descriptions of the sexual forms of seven Himalayan Myrmica species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Vestn. Zool. 36(5): 35-46 (page 37, queen described)
• Radchenko, A.G. & Elmes, G.W. 2010. Myrmica ants of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3: 1-789.
• Wei, Z.; Zhou, S.; Liu, M. 1999. A new record species of the genus Myrmica Latreille (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Shaanxi, China. Entomotaxonomia 21: 60 (new to China)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Forel A. 1902. Myrmicinae nouveaux de l'Inde et de Ceylan. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 165-249.
• Forel A. 1903. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part X. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 14: 679-715.
• Gulzar A. 2014. Classification and Distribution of ants in Kashgar, Xinjiang. Master's Thesis Shaanxi Normal University, 75 pages.
• Radchenko, A. G., and G. W. Elmes. "A taxonomic revision of the ant genus Myrmica Latreille, 1804 from the Himalaya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Entomologica Basiliensia 23 (2001): 237-276.