Xenomyrmex floridanus

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Xenomyrmex floridanus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Xenomyrmex
Species: X. floridanus
Binomial name
Xenomyrmex floridanus
Emery, 1895

Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0000499 profile 1.jpg

Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0000499 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Subspecies
Synonyms

Wheeler (1931) - "The worker specimens from which this form was described were taken by Theodore Pergande in a twig of a mastic tree Sideroxylon mastichodendron, at Lake Worth Florida." Wheeler also notes, in details provided for a number of synonymized forms: he collected a queen establishing a colony in a small cavity in a branch of a living tree on Long Pine Key, Florida; specimens from the Bahamas were found nesting in a Tillandsia on the north shore of Southern Bight and in a hollow twig at Mangrove Cay; and from Cuba, three workers found by Dr. W. S. Creighton at Mina Carlota, Cumanyagua, Cuba, were found under a flake of stone on a limestone ridge. Since there was in this situation only a small collection of workers without brood or queen, and since several hours previously Dr. Creighton had cut down somecreepers and branches with a machete just above the spot where the ants were found, he believes that they were probably only a bivouacking remnant of a colony that he had driven from its nest in some twig or liana.

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 29.7° to 17.9326°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Bahamas, Cuba, Greater Antilles, Guatemala, Mexico.

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

Life History Traits

  • Queen number: monogynous (Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0102749 head 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102749 profile 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102749 profile 2.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102749 dorsal 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102749 label 1.jpg
Male (alate). Specimen code casent0102749. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.
Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0102750 head 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102750 profile 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102750 profile 2.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102750 dorsal 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0102750 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0102750. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.
Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0104541 head 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0104541 profile 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0104541 dorsal 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0104541 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0104541. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA.
Xenomyrmex floridanus casent0106053 head 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0106053 head 2.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0106053 profile 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0106053 dorsal 1.jpgXenomyrmex floridanus casent0106053 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0106053. Photographer Michael Branstetter, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • floridanus. Xenomyrmex stolli subsp. floridanus Emery, 1895c: 275 (w.m.) U.S.A. Wheeler, W.M. 1931a: 136 (q.). Raised to species: Creighton, 1957c: 6. Senior synonym of rufescens: Creighton, 1950a: 226; of cubanus, lucayanus: Creighton, 1957c: 6. Current subspecies: nominal plus skwarrae.
  • cubanus. Xenomyrmex stolli subsp. cubanus Wheeler, W.M. 1931a: 134 (w.) CUBA. Junior synonym of floridanus: Creighton, 1957c: 6.
  • lucayanus. Xenomyrmex stolli subsp. lucayanus Wheeler, W.M. 1931a: 137 (w.) BAHAMAS. [First available use of Xenomyrmex stolli subsp. floridanus var. lucayanus Wheeler, W.M. 1905b: 87; unavailable name.] Junior synonym of floridanus: Creighton, 1957c: 6.
  • rufescens. Xenomyrmex stolli subsp. rufescens Wheeler, W.M. 1931a: 137 (q.) U.S.A. Junior synonym of floridanus: Creighton, 1950a: 226.

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

Description

Worker

Wheeler (1931) - Length 1.7 mm.

Head somewhat narrower and somewhat more rectangular than in the typical stolli. Body paler, more yellowish brown, posterior borders of gastric segments, legs and antennae yellowish white; femora and last joint of antennal club yellowish brown like the body. Mesopleurae and sides of epinotum finely reticulate and less shining than the pronotum.

Queen

Wheeler (1931) - (dealated). Length 4 mm.

Head rectangular, with straight, parallel sides and posterior border, a fifth longer than broad. Eyes moderately large, flattened; ocelli small. Mandibles stout and convex. Thorax elongate-elliptical, three times as long as broad, narrower than the head. Mesonotum half as long as the thorax, fully half again as long as broad. Scutellum small; metanotum distinct but narrow. Epinotum short, subcuboidal, its base convex, as long as the somewhat concave and nearly perpendicular declivity. Petiole and postpetiole resembling those of the worker, the former half again as long as broad, the latter one third broader than the petiole. Gaster large, elongate, suboblong, as long as the remainder of the body.

Smooth and shining as in the worker, mandibles finely punctate, cheeks striate, subopaque, sides of head above coarsely and sparsely punctate. Pilosity on the body longer and more abundant than in the worker. Color somewhat darker brown, tibiae almost as dark as the femora. Mandibles of the same color as the head, last joint of antennal club black.

Male

Wheeler (1931) - (according to Emery) Length 1.75 mm. “The head is short, the eyes placed far forward; mandibles very small, obliquely truncated, the clypeus convex, unarmed. The scape of the antennae is cylindrical, slender, as long as the two succeeding joints together; the first funicular joint is scarcely thicker than the scape, spherical; the succeeding joints much thicker, about as long as broad, the four terminal joints longer, the last as long as the two preceding together. The thorax is unfortunately somewhat damaged, but it seems to show a trace of parapsidal furrows. The petiole resembles that of• the worker; the gaster is club-shaped, the genitalia very small. The wings are, injured, but seem to have a much reduced venation.”

Type Material

Wheeler (1931) - The worker specimens from which this form was described were taken by Theodore Pergande in a twig of a mastic tree Sideroxylon mastichodendron, at Lake Worth Florida. The male, described from a damaged specimen, belonged, perhaps, to another colony. I possess one of the cotype workers and a worker and three females taken by Dr. W. S. Blatchley at Dunedin, Florida.

Worker Morphology

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • Caste: monomorphic

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.
  • Alayo D. P. 1974. Introduccion al estudio de los Himenopteros de Cuba. Superfamilia Formicoidea. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Zoologia. Serie Biologica no.53: 58 pp. La Habana.
  • Cancino, E.R., D.R. Kasparan, J.M.A. Coronado Blanco, S.N. Myartseva, V.A. Trjapitzin, S.G. Hernandez Aguilar and J. Garcia Jimenez. 2010. Himenópteros de la Reserva “El Cielo”, Tamaulipas, México. Dugesiana 17(1):53-71
  • Creighton W. S. 1957. A study of the genus Xenomyrmex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). American Museum Novitates 1843: 1-14.
  • 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., L. Davis, and S. Buckner. 1998. Composition of the ant fauna of three Bahamian islands. Proceedings of the seventh symposium on the natural history of the Bahamas. 23-32. Bahamian Field Station, San Salvador, Bahamas
  • Deyrup, M. 2003. An updated list of Florida ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 86(1):43-48.
  • Deyrup, M. and J. Trager. 1986. Ants of the Archbold Biological Station, Highlands County, Florida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 69(1):206-228
  • Fernandes, P.R. XXXX. Los hormigas del suelo en Mexico: Diversidad, distribucion e importancia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Ferster B., Z. Prusak, 1994. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Everglades National Park. Florida Entomologist 77: 508-512
  • Fontanla Rizo J.L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba. Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
  • Fontenla J. L., and J. Alfonso-Simonetti. 2018. Classification of Cuban ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) into functional groups. Poeyana Revista Cubana de Zoologia 506: 21-30.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Composición y estructura de comunidades de hormigas en un sistema de formaciones vegetales costeras. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 441: 1-19.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Mirmecofauna de Isla de la Juventud y de algunos cayos del archipielago cubano. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 444:1-7.
  • Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
  • Johnson C. 1986. A north Florida ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 1: 243-246
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • 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
  • Morrison L. W. 1998. A review of Bahamian ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) biogeography. Journal of Biogeography 25: 561-571.
  • Piechnik, D. E., Martinez, N. D. and Lawler, S. P. 2008. Food-web assembly during a classic biogeographic study: species' "trophic breadth" corresponds to colonization order. - Oikos 117:665-674
  • Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2002. Mirmecofauna de los macizos montañosos de Sierra Maestra y Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa. Cocuyo 12: 10-13
  • Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2006. Species of hymenopterans recorded in Siboney-Juticí Ecological Reserve, Santiago de Cuba Province, compiled from collections during the rapid inventory of 27-28 September 2002. Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y / and J. M. Shopland, eds. 2005. Cuba: Siboney-Juticí. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 10. The Field Museum, Chicago.
  • Portuondo Ferrer, E. and J. Fernandez Triana. Biodiversidad del orden Hymenoptera en Los Macizos Montanosos de Cuba Oriental. Boletin S.E.A. 35:121-136.
  • Reyes, J. L. "Inventario de la colección de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba." Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa 36 (2005): 279-283.
  • Smith M. R. 1930. A list of Florida ants. Florida Entomologist 14: 1-6.
  • Smith M. R. 1933. Additional species of Florida ants, with remarks. Florida Entomologist 17: 21-26.
  • Van Pelt A. F. 1948. A Preliminary Key to the Worker Ants of Alachua County, Florida. The Florida Entomologist 30(4): 57-67
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Wetterer J. K. 2017. Distribution of Xenomyrmex floridanus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Florida and the West Indies. Florida Entomologist 100(1): 5-8.
  • Wetterer J. K. 2018. Native and exotic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nesting in red mangroves (Malpighiales: Rhizophora mangle) of eastern Florida. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 144(2): 347-357.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1931. Neotropical ants of the genus Xenomyrmex Forel. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 1: 129-139.
  • 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 W. M. 1942. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 90: 1-262.
  • Wilson E. O. 1964. The ants of the Florida Keys. Breviora 210: 1-14.
  • Wilson E. O., and D. S. Simberloff. 1969. Experimental zoogeography of islands. Defaunation and monitoring techniques. Ecology 50: 267-278.