Polyrhachis muelleri

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Polyrhachis muelleri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Polyrhachis
Subgenus: Myrmhopla
Species: P. muelleri
Binomial name
Polyrhachis muelleri
Forel, 1893

Polyrhachis muelleri casent0906765 p 1 high.jpg

Polyrhachis muelleri casent0906765 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

A widely ranging forest species that uses larval silk to construct nests on the underside of leaves.

Identification

A member of the Polyrhachis hector species group.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Kohout (2008) - Polyrhachis muelleri is a widespread species recorded from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra and Java.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 5.016666667° to -6.566666667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore (type locality).
Oriental Region: Thailand.

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

Polyrhachis muelleri nest.jpg

The fairly transparent silk-woven nest of about 10 cm in length is situated beneath a leaf of a ginger plant about 2 m above ground, in a primary rainforest. Larvae and pupae appear greenish; only the adult ants are black and thus well visible against the sunlight.

The biology of P. muelleri was described in detail by Dorow et al. (1990). Colonies are monogynous with 17 workers on average (n=19)

Castes

Very slight difference in body size between queens and workers (Dorow et al. 1990)

Worker

Polyrhachis-muelleri-hef1 6.jpgPolyrhachis-muelleri-hal1 6.jpgPolyrhachis-muelleri-had1 6.jpgPolyrhachis-muelleri-lbs.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Nomenclature

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

  • muelleri. Polyrhachis muelleri Forel, 1893c: 32 (w.) SINGAPORE. Forel, 1901d: 302 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1990b: 754 (l.). Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 193.

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

Description

Type Material

Kohout (2008) - Syntype workers. SINGAPORE (A. Müller), Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève (examined).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton, B. 1998. A preliminary analysis of the ants of the Pasoh Forest Reserve. Pp. 84-95 in: Lee, S. S.; Dan, Y. M.; Gauld, I. D.; Bishop, J. (eds.) Conservation, management and development of forest resources. Proceedings of the Malaysia-United Kingdom Programme Workshop 21-24 October 1996. Kuala Lumpur: International Institute for Environment and Development, 392 pp.: 84-95
  • Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
  • Dorow W. H. O., U. Maschwitz, and S. Rapp. 1990. The natural history of Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla) muelleri Forel 1893 (Formicidae: Formicinae), a weaver ant with mimetic larvae and an unusual nesting behavior. Tropical Zoology 3: 181-190.
  • Dorow W. H. O., and U. Maschwitz. 1990. The arachne-group of Polyrhachis (Formicidae: Formicinae): weaver ants cultivating Homoptera on bamboo. Insectes Sociaux. 37: 73-89.
  • Emery C. 1886. Saggio di un catalogo sistematico dei generi Camponotus, Polyrhachis e affini. Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna 5: 363-382
  • Emery C. Formiche raccolte da Elio Modigliani in Sumatra, Engano e Mentawei. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 40: 661-722.
  • Emery, C. "Formiche raccolte da Elio Modigliani in Sumatra, Engano e Mentawei." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 20, no. 40 (1900): 661-722.
  • Forel A. 1901. Einige neue Ameisen aus Südbrasilien, Java, Natal und Mossamedes. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 10: 297-311.
  • Forel A. 1901. Einige neue Ameisen aus Südbrasilien, Java, Natal und Mossamedes. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 10: 297-311.
  • Kohout R.J., and M. Mohamed. 2008. A preliminary list of the Polyrhachis ants of the Maliau Basin Conservation area in Sabah, Borneo (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Asian Myrmecology 2: 63-70.
  • Kohout, R. J. 2008. A review of the Polyrhachis ants of Sulawesi with keys and descriptions of new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 52:255-317.
  • Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
  • Philpott S.M., P. Bichier, R.A. Rice, and R. Greenberg. 2008. Biodiversity conservation, yield, and alternative products in coffee agroecosystems in Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodivers. Conserv. 17: 1805-1820. Data obtained from Stacy Philpott
  • Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014