Pheidole plebecula, Forel, 1899

Longino, John T., 2019, Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American Wet Forest, Zootaxa 4599 (1), pp. 1-126 : 54

Pheidole plebecula

Pheidole plebecula Forel, 1899: 68 . Holotype major worker: Costa Rica, Alajuela (Alfaro) [MSNG, unique specimen identifier CASENT0904359] (AntWeb image examined).

Pheidole texticeps Wilson, 2003: 240 , figs. Holotype major worker and associated paratype minor worker: Costa Rica, Heredia, La Selva Biological Station , 1988 (S. Cover) [MCZC] (examined). New Synonym.

Pheidole perdiligens Wilson, 2003: 213 , figs. Holotype major worker and associated paratype minor worker: Costa Rica, Puntarenas, Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula, Sirena, 28 Feb 1979, secondary rainforest, <1/ 2mi from coast, rotten branch on forest floor (S. P. Cover CR312) [MCZC] (examined). New synonym. Synonymized under P. texticeps by Longino, 2009: 85.

Comments. Wilson (2003) was unable to locate the type of P. plebecula and left it incertae sedis. The types were located and imaged for AntWeb by the Fisher lab. The images easily match Wilson's concept of P. texticeps .

Local populations of P. plebecula vary greatly in color and sculpture. Color varies from yellow orange to dark brown, and to varying extent bicolored, with lighter head and mesosoma and darker gaster. The face of the major varies from being entirely foveolate/rugulose to completely smooth and shining. Pilosity can vary as well, with most populations having multiple pairs of stiff setae on the mesosomal dorsum, but some with no dorsal setae. One of the variants, from Volcán Atitlán, Guatemala, was initially separated as the morphospecies JTL199. In Economo et al. (2019) the two species P. texticeps and P. JTL199 appear together, with little genetic divergence. These can now both be identified as P. plebecula .