Solenopsis picta

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Solenopsis picta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Solenopsis
Species complex: molesta
Species: S. picta
Binomial name
Solenopsis picta
Emery, 1895

Solenopsis picta casent0104509 profile 1.jpg

Solenopsis picta casent0104509 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

These ants nest in hollow twigs and in dead wood in Florida and the southeastern states (Thompson 1980). Solenopsis picta can also be found in oak trees in Florida (Emery 1895) and were found in a dead pecan twigs in Victoria, Texas (Wheeler W. M. 1915). Workers can be collected in bait traps in trees. We found single a single queen in each nest. Brood was present in nests in August. They are found in oak woodlands.

Identification

A New World thief ant that is a member of the molesta species complex. (Key to New World Solenopsis Species Complexes)

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) – Worker - This is a small dark, occasionally bicolored ant (with a reddish brown head and mesosoma and a dark brown gaster). The head is slightly longer than wide and the body is not very hairy. The cephalic punctures are small. The hairs are erect and sub erect and vary in length. The lateral clypeal teeth are widely separated (0.066 mm), but weakly developed. The eyes are small, with 4-5 ommatidia and almond-shaped. The notopropodeal suture is well depressed and breaks the sculpture of the mesosoma. The propodeum is flattened and the dorsopropodeum forms about a 45 degree angle with the posteropropodeum. The petiole is wider than the postpetiole when viewed in profile. The petiolar and postpetiolar nodes are rounded. Queen - undescribed). The queen is small and concolorous golden brown. The head has fine punctation. The lateral teeth on the anterior margin of the clypeus are angulate and the extralateral teeth are absent. The medial ocellus is small; the pronotum is finely punctate. The posterior propodeal margin is slightly angulate. The petiole is wider than the postpetiole when viewed laterally. The petiolar node is rounded and somewhat triangular. The postpetiolar node is oval-shaped and globose. The ventral surfaces of both the petiole and postpetiole are lacking teeth, but the petiolar peduncle has a flange ventrally.

The workers of Solenopsis tenuis are similar to S. picta but can be separated from S. picta by the longer scapes. Solenopsis subtilis is similar to S. picta as well, a species that is found in South America. Solenopsis subtilis is nearly identical in size and form, but may be distinguished by color as it is light brown with yellowish appendages while S. picta is dark brown or occasionally bicolored. The queens of the two species are different as the queen of S. picta lacks striae on the sides of the petiole and postpetiole.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 34.767° to 22.29448°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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

Atchison & Lucky (2022) found that this species does not remove seeds.

Castes

Males have yet to be collected.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Solenopsis picta casent0104510 head 1.jpgSolenopsis picta casent0104510 profile 1.jpgSolenopsis picta casent0104510 profile 2.jpgSolenopsis picta casent0104510 dorsal 1.jpgSolenopsis picta casent0104510 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104510. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • picta. Solenopsis picta Emery, 1895c: 278 (w.) U.S.A. (Florida).
    • Type-material: lectotype worker (by designation of Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 270).
    • Type-locality: U.S.A.: Florida (Pergande).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1960b: 22 (l.). Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 268 (q.).
    • Status as species: Emery, 1896g: 86 (in key); Wheeler, W.M. 1910g: 563; Emery, 1922e: 200; Borgmeier, 1927c: 106; Smith, M.R. 1930a: 3; Wheeler, W.M. 1932a: 10; Smith, M.R. 1943a: 211 (in key); Creighton, 1950a: 237; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 814; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 130; Wilson, 1964b: 9; Ettershank, 1966: 143; Smith, M.R. 1967: 358; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1388; Thompson, 1989: 271 (in key); Thompson & Johnson, 1989: 697 (in key); Deyrup, et al. 1989: 96; Bolton, 1995b: 390; Deyrup, 2003: 47; MacGown & Forster, 2005: 70; Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 268 (redescription); Deyrup, 2017: 111.
    • Senior synonym of moerens: Creighton, 1950a: 237; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 130; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1388; Bolton, 1995b: 390; Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 268.
    • Distribution: U.S.A.
  • moerens. Solenopsis picta var. moerens Wheeler, W.M. 1915b: 393 (w.) U.S.A. (Texas).
    • Type-material: 6 syntype workers.
    • Type-locality: U.S.A: Texas, Victoria (J.D. Mitchell).
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Subspecies of picta: Emery, 1922e: 200; Smith, M.R. 1927: 309; Smith, M.R. 1951a: 814; Ettershank, 1966: 142.
    • Junior synonym of picta: Creighton, 1950a: 237; Smith, M.R. 1958c: 130; Smith, D.R. 1979: 1388; Bolton, 1995b: 389; Pacheco & Mackay, 2013: 268.

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

Description

Worker

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - Measurements (n=5). TL 1.32-1.44 (1.37); HL 0.390; HW 0.330-0.336 (0.331); EL 0.042; ED 0.030; SL 0.222-0.258 (0.248); FSL 0.090-0.096 (0.094); CI 84.6-86.2 (84.9); SI 56.9-66.2 (63.7); PL 0.072-0.078 (0.073); PW 0.084-0.090 (0.085); PI 85.7-86.7 (85.9); PPL 0.078-0.084 (0.082); PPW 0.096-0.102 (0.101); PPI 76.5-82.4 (80.9); WL 0.240-0.276 (0.260); PSL 0.030; PSW 0.030.

Small, concolorous brown or bicolored, reddish brown head, dark brown gaster; head longer than wide, cephalic punctures fine; lateral clypeal teeth widely separated, but poorly developed, extralateral teeth small, angulate; clypeal carinae well defined; eyes black, almond shaped, with 4-5 ommatidia; scape long, extending ¾ length of head; minor funicular segments 3-8 short, not surpassing 0.100 mm; mesosoma smooth and shiny; notopropodeal suture well depressed, groove breaks sculpture of mesosoma; posteropropodeum flattened, dorsopropodeum forms 45 degree angle with posteropropodeum; petiole wider than postpetiole viewed laterally; petiolar node triangular, peduncle lacking tooth ventrally; postpetiolar node oval-shaped (seen from above).

Not very pilose; few body hairs present on all body surfaces; most hairs erect and suberect, present on head and scape; mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole and first tergite of gaster have very few erect and suberect hairs.

Queen

Pacheco and Mackay (2013) - Measurements (n=1). TL 3.24; HL 0.540; HW 0.480; EL 0.156; ED 0.120; MOL 0.036; MOD 0.042; SL 0.360; FSL 0.180; CI 88.9; SI 66.7; PSL 0.060; PSW 0.050; PL 0.120; PW 0.216; PI 55.6; PPL 0.156; PPW 0.240; PPI 65.0; WL 0.720.

Small, concolorous golden brown; head quadrate, longer than wide, with fine cephalic punctures; lateral clypeal teeth angulate, extralateral teeth absent, with bumps in their positions; clypeal carinae well defined; scapes long, reaching 3/4 length of head to posterior lateral corner; eyes black, small; medial ocellus small; pronotum finely punctate, sculpture smooth and shiny between punctures; mesopleuron smooth and shiny; metapleuron with horizontal striae; posterior propodeal margin weakly angulate; petiole wider than postpetiole viewed laterally; petiolar node rounded, triangular; postpetiolar node oval, globose; both petiolar peduncle and postpetiole lacking tooth or flange ventrally.

Hairy, with erect and suberect hairs of various lengths covering all body surfaces; scape with hairs of various lengths, with long suberect hairs basally (0.120 mm); dorsum of mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole covered in numerous suberect hairs of various lengths, those on petiole and postpetiole curve posteriorly.

Type Material

Florida, (lectotype worker [here designated], Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa), (pinned in the "sandwich form," in which the specimen is mounted between two pieces of film or plastic. It is very difficult to view and the head is separate from the rest of the body).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Addison D. S., I. Bartoszek, V. Booher, M. A. Deyrup, M. Schuman, J. Schmid, and K. Worley. 2016. Baseline surveys for ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the western Everglades, Collier County, Florida. Florida Entomologist 99(3): 389-394.
  • Albrecht M. 1995. New Species Distributions of Ants in Oklahoma, including a South American Invader. Proc. Okla. Acad. Sci. 75: 21-24.
  • Annotated Ant Species List Ordway-Swisher Biological Station. Downloaded at http://ordway-swisher.ufl.edu/species/os-hymenoptera.htm on 5th Oct 2010.
  • Atchison R. A., J. Hulcr, and A. Lucky. 2018. Managed fire frequency significantly influences the litter arthropod community in longleaf pine flatwoods. Environmental Entomology 20(10): 1-11.
  • Colby, D. and D. Prowell. 2006. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Wet Longleaf Pine Savannas in Louisiana. Florida Entomologist 89(2):266-269
  • Dash S. T. and L. M. Hooper-Bui. 2008. Species diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Louisiana. Conservation Biology and Biodiversity. 101: 1056-1066
  • Deyrup M., C. Johnson, G. C. Wheeler, J. Wheeler. 1989. A preliminary list of the ants of Florida. Florida Entomologist 72: 91-101
  • Deyrup, M. and J. Trager. 1986. Ants of the Archbold Biological Station, Highlands County, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 69(1):206-228
  • Forster J.A. 2005. The Ants (hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Alabama. Master of Science, Auburn University. 242 pages.
  • Hill J.G. & Brown R. L. 2010. The Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Fauna of Black Belt Prairie Remnants in Alabama and Mississippi. Southeastern Naturalist. 9: 73-84
  • Jeanne R. J. 1979. A latitudinal gradient in rates of ant predation. Ecology 60(6): 1211-1224.
  • Johnson C. 1986. A north Florida ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 1: 243-246
  • MacGown J. A., J. G. Hill, R. L. Brown, T. L. Schiefer, J. G. Lewis. 2012. Ant diversity at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Oktibbeha, Noxubee, and Winston Counties, Mississippi. Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station Bulletin 1197: 1-30
  • MacGown J. A., J. G. Hill, and R. L. Brown. 2010. Native and exotic ant in Mississippi state parks. Proceedings: Imported Fire Ant Conference, Charleston, South Carolina, March 24-26, 2008: 74-80.
  • 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
  • Moreau C. S., M. A. Deyrup, and L. R. David Jr. 2014. Ants of the Florida Keys: Species Accounts, Biogeography, and Conservation (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Insect Sci. 14(295): DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/ieu157
  • Moser J. C. and M. S. Blum. 1960. The Formicidae of Louisiana. Insect Conditions in Louisiana 3: 48-50
  • O'Keefe S. T., J. L. Cook, T. Dudek, D. F. Wunneburger, M. D. Guzman, R. N. Coulson, and S. B. Vinson. 2000. The Distribution of Texas Ants. The Southwestern Entomologist 22: 1-92.
  • Pacheco J. A., and W. P. Mackay. 2013. The systematics and biology of the New World thief ants of the genus Solenopsis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 501 pp.
  • Parys K. A., M. L. Gimmel, and S. J. Johnson. 2013. Checklist of Insects Associated with Salvinia minima Baker in Louisiana, USA. Check List 9(6): 1488–1495.
  • Van Pelt A. F. 1948. A Preliminary Key to the Worker Ants of Alachua County, Florida. The Florida Entomologist 30(4): 57-67
  • Van Pelt A. F. 1956. The ecology of the ants of the Welaka Reserve, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). American Midland Naturalist 56: 358-387
  • Van Pelt A. F. 1966. Activity and density of old-field ants of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 82: 35-43.
  • Van Pelt A., and J. B. Gentry. 1985. The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Savannah River Plant, South Carolina. Dept. Energy, Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC., Report SRO-NERP-14, 56 p.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1932. A list of the ants of Florida with descriptions of new forms. J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 40: 1-17.
  • Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1985. A checklist of Texas ants. Prairie Naturalist 17:49-64.
  • Wilson E. O. 1964. The ants of the Florida Keys. Breviora 210: 1-14.
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