Strumigenys micretes

Strumigenys micretes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Strumigenys
Species:	S. micretes
Binomial name
	Strumigenys micretes; Brown, 1959 Specimen Labels

Strumigenys micretes occurs in wet forest habitats. It nests in dead wood on the ground (Longino, Ants of Costa Rica).

Identification

A member of the Strumigenys emeryi-group. See Strumigenys emeryi

Longino (Ants of Costa Rica) - Apical fork of mandible with one intercalary tooth; mandible often with acute preapical tooth very close to apical fork, but may be reduced to small denticle or absent; no other preapical teeth; gaster smooth and shining, with long flagelliform setae; pronotal dorsum finely reticulate-punctate, usually without any costulate sculpture; but if a few faint costulae occur they are insignificant and obviously secondary to the reticulate-punctate component.

Keys including this Species

Key to Neotropical and Nearctic Strumigenys

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 19.51666667° to 8.407045°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (type locality), Honduras, Nicaragua.

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.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

micretes. Strumigenys micretes Brown, 1959a: 100 (w.) COSTA RICA. See also: Bolton, 2000: 516.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 2.7-3.2, H L 0.68-0.75, HW 0.47-0.54, CI 69-75, ML 0.42-0.47, MI 60-65, SL 0.48-0.54, SI 96-102, PW 0.30-0.35, AL 0.68-0.76 (12 measured).

Preapical dentition of mandible very variable: may be entirely absent but usually there is a denticle or small tooth (size variable) on one or both mandibles close to the apicodorsal tooth. This denticle/tooth may be larger on one mandible than on the other, or present on one but not the other. More proximally mandible unarmed, or one or both with a minute denticle or tumulus. Considerable variation may occur within a single nest series. Both pairs of standing hairs on cephalic dorsum stiff, simple to spatulate. Apicoscrobal hair and pronotal humeral hair flagellate; a flagellate pair present on mesonotum and similar hairs numerous on waist segments and first gastral tergite. Pronotal dorsum reticulate-punctate, often only this sculpture present but sometimes a few very feeble superficial rugulae may occur; if so the rugulae are very faint, widely spaced and distinctly secondary to the reticulate-punctate sculpture. Mesopleuron, and usually also metapleuron, with a smooth unsculptured area; presence and extent of smooth area on metapleuron variable and in some specimens the entire sclerite is reticulate-punctate. Posterior (free) margin of propodeal lamella straight to weakly convex for most of its depth; propodeal lacuna conspicuous. Ventral surface of petiole with a curtain of spongiform tissue. Dorsum of petiole node reticulate-punctate. Disc of postpetiole variably sculptured, mostly smooth in some, in others smooth with peripheral weak sculpture or the whole surface feebly superficially sculptured; sometimes one or two weak rugulae present dorsolaterally.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Holotype and paratype workers, COSTA RICA: Santa Clara Prov., Colombiana Farm, 1924 (W. M. Mann) (National Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo) [examined].

References

Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028.
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1959. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: group of emeryi Mann. Entomological News. 70:97-104. (page 100, worker described)
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1962c. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: synopsis and keys to the species. Psyche. 69:238-267.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Adams, R.M.M. and J.T. Longino. 2007. Nesting biology of the arboreal fungus-growing ant Cyphomyrmex cornutus and behavioral interactions with the social-parasitic ant Megalomyrmex mondabora. Insectes Sociaux 54:136-143
Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
Longino J. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/