Plagiolepis schmitzii

Plagiolepis schmitzii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Plagiolepidini
Genus:	Plagiolepis
Species:	P. schmitzii
Binomial name
Plagiolepis schmitzii Forel, 1895 Specimen Labels
Subspecies
Plagiolepis schmitzii canariensis Santschi, 1920 Plagiolepis schmitzii tingitana Santschi, 1936
Synonyms
Plagiolepis barbara madeirensis Emery, 1921 Plagiolepis pygmaea barbara Santschi, 1911 Plagiolepis schmitzi crosi Santschi, 1920

This ant has been associated with the butterflies Glaucopsyche alexis, Pseudophilotes abencerragus and Leptotes pirithous (Obregon et al. 2015).

Identification

Sharaf et al. (2011) - As Forel (1895) stated in his original description that the sides of the head are less convex than the other species. Other specimens from Spain and Madeira are illustrated by Taylor & Sharaf (2007). Those are a darker red-brown than the, probably faded, syntype.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Arabian Plagiolepis Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia.
Palaearctic Region: Algeria, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Gibraltar, Iberian Peninsula, Iran, Portugal (type locality), Republic of Macedonia, Spain, Tunisia.

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Biology

Beltra et al. (2017) found this ant forging on grape vines in Eastern Spain vineyards.

Castes

Worker

• The following images are provided by AntWeb
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Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's New General Catalogue, a catalogue of the world's ants.

• schmitzii. Plagiolepis pygmaea var. schmitzii Forel, 1895d: 231 (w.q.) PORTUGAL (Madeira I.). Santschi, 1911i: 286 (m.). Raised to species: Santschi, 1920g: 168. Senior synonym of barbara, crosi: Collingwood, 1978: 71; of madeirensis: Wetterer, Espadaler, et al. 2007: 20. Current subspecies: nominal plus canariensis, tingitana. See also: Sharaf, Aldawood & Taylor, 2011: 208.
• barbara. Plagiolepis pygmaea var. barbara Santschi, 1911i: 286 (w.m.) TUNISIA. Santschi, 1920g: 172 (q.). Raised to species: Santschi, 1920g: 172. Junior synonym of schmitzii: Collingwood, 1978: 71.
• crosi. Plagiolepis schmitzi st. crosi Santschi, 1920g: 168, fig. 1 (w.q.) ALGERIA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1953c: 135 (l.). Raised to species: Emery, 1925b: 20; Santschi, 1931a: 10. Junior synonym of schmitzii: Collingwood, 1978: 71.
• madeirensis. Plagiolepis barbara var. madeirensis Emery, 1921d: 315, fig. I (w.) PORTUGAL (Madeira I.). Subspecies of schmitzii: Bolton, 1995b: 335. Junior synonym of schmitzii: Wetterer, Espadaler, et al. 2007: 20.

Type Material

Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype worker: Madeira, Serra d’Agua (P. E. Schmitz) (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève) [examined]. Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Sharaf et al. (2011) - Syntype. TL 2.1, HL 0.50, HW 0.46, SL 0.46, EL 0.13, SI 100, CI 92, PRW 0.30, ML 0.60.

Redescription of Worker. Body dirty yellow, gaster yellowish brown, antennae and legs clear yellow. Head longer than broad and with clearly convex sides. Posterior margin of head distinctly concave with rounded corners. Eyes conspicuously large (EL 0.13) with 12 ommatidia in the longest row and occupying about quarter of head sides. All funicular segments clearly longer than broad. Second funicular segment distinctly shorter than the third. Fourth funicular segment 1.5 times longer than the third. Scapes in full-face view surpassing occiput by ca 0.25 of own length. Mesosoma in dorsal view elongated. Whole body and antennae with relatively dense appressed yellow pubescence. Gaster with well spaced and quite thick long hairs situated on posterior margins of all tergites.

Karyotype

• n = 9, 2n = 18, karyotype = 12M+2A+2T (Spain) (Palomeque et al., 1990b; Palomeque et al., 1993a) (as Plagiolepis barbara).
• n = 9, 2n = 18 (Tunisia) (Hauschteck-Jungen & Jungen, 1983) (as Plagiolepis barbara).

References

• Beltra, A., C. Navarro-Campos, A. Calabuig, L. Estopa, F. L. Wackers, A. Pekas, and A. Soto. 2017. Association between ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and the vine mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in table-grape vineyards in Eastern Spain. Pest Management Science. 73:2473-2480. doi:10.1002/ps.4640
• Collingwood, C. A. 1978. A provisional list of Iberian Formicidae with a key to the worker caste (Hym. Aculeata). EOS. Rev. Esp. Entomol. 52:65-95. (page 71, Senior synonym of barbara and crosi)
• Forel, A. 1895e. Südpalaearctische Ameisen. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 9:227-234. (page 231, worker, queen described)
• Obregon, R., M. R. Shaw, J. Fernandez-Haeger, and D. Jordano. 2015. Parasitoid and ant interactions of some Iberian butterflies (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Shilap-Revista De Lepidopterologia. 43:439-454.
• Santschi, F. 1911i. Formicides de diverses provenances. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 55:278-287. (page 286, male described)
• Santschi, F. 1920g. Cinq nouvelles notes sur les fourmis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 53:163-186. (page 168, Raised to species)
• Sharaf, M., Aldawood, A. and Taylor, B. 2011 The formicine ant genus Plagiolepis Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula, with description of two new species. Transactions of the American Entomological Society. 137:(1+2) 203-215.