Pheidole diversipilosa Wheeler

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 153

Pheidole diversipilosa Wheeler

Pheidole crassicornis var. diversipilosa Wheeler 1908h: 467. Raised to species level by Naves 1985: 61. Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology L diversipilosa , different (variable) hair, alluding to the major.

diagnosis Very close to crassicornis from which it differs in the major by abundant pilosity on the mesosoma and gaster, and tetra , from which it differs in the major by the much shorter pilosity on the first gastral tergite and by sparseness or absence of pilosity on the waist and occiput.

Also resembles pilosior and porcula in various traits as depicted.

Measurements (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.26, HL 1.34, SL 0.66, EL 0.20, PW 0.66. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.66, HL 0.74, SL 0.76, EL 0.16, PW 0.46. color Major and minor: body medium reddish brown, appendages light reddish brown. Range Southwestern Texas to the mountains of southern and central Arizona.

Biology According to Stefan Cover (personal communication), diversipilosa is common at mid-elevations (1050-1900 m), favoring oak-pine-juniper forests, especially those in creek valleys, where it nests under rocks and in open soil. Colonies have single queens and large populations, which can exceed 1000 workers. Seed caches have been found in some nests.

Figure Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. TEXAS: Ft. Davis, southwestern Texas (W. M. Wheeler). Scale bars = 1 mm.