Strumigenys dietrichi Smith, 1931

Booher, Douglas B., 2021, The ant genus Strumigenys Smith, 1860 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in western North America North of Mexico, Zootaxa 5061 (2), pp. 201-248 : 226-227

Strumigenys dietrichi Smith, 1931

Distribution. USA to Mexico; widespread in eastern USA from Florida to Maryland and west to Missouri; in western USA occurs in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Comments. This is another wide-ranging eastern species with a continuous USA distribution from the Florida Keys to Maryland and west to Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas ( Deyrup 2006). Outside the USA, this species is known from the Mexican state of Puebla. The Puebla collection included a few specimens collected in a patch of mesic forest litter along a roadside. It is likely this species is native in Puebla as there are other ants ( Ponera exotica Smith, 1962 , Cryptopone sp. ) and trees ( Liquidambar, Acer ) that are native in both the southeastern USA and southern Mexico (J. Longino, pers. comm.). From personal collections, I have found S. dietrichi is most often associated with extremely wet environments across a wide range of habitats: sloped mid-elevation deeply shaded ravines, marsh-like sunny ditches along roadsides, and in deep moist pockets of litter in upland woodlands. However, collection notes from several Ohio colonies were associated with rotted logs found in ‘dryish’ woods ( Wesson & Wesson 1939). In Kansas, a colony was collected in rotted wood in a moist deciduous forest ( DuBois 1985). These Kansas specimens had slightly apically expanded bulbous setae extending from the anterior portion of the clypeus; typically, these setae are filiform along their entire length.

Material examined: USA, Kansas, 1 worker, [ MCZC] ; USA, Oklahoma, Cleveland Co., Norman , 35.243579, -97.443519, 364 m, 5 Apr 1969, 1 queen & 1 worker, coll. Walter Suter, [ ABS] ; USA, Oklahoma, Latimer Co., 34.835035, -95.31025, 224 m, 15 May 1983, 1 queen, K. Stephan, [ ABS] ; USA, Texas, Nacogdoches Co., 12 miles south southwest of Nacogdoches, 31.470424, -94.715606, 60 m, 1 Feb 1984, Hardwood Forest , 1 queen & 4 workers, D.M. Field, [ ABS] .