Pheidole chloe ^HNS Forel, new status

Pheidole goeldii subsp. chloe ^HNS Forel 1908c: 56.

Types Mus. Hist. Nat. Geneve; Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Gr chloe ^HNS, first green shoots of plants in spring, allusion unknown.

diagnosis A member of the flavens ^HNS group close to striaticeps ^HNS of Mexico and Central America (and a possible synonym of it), much less so to the other species listed in the heading, and distinguished as follows.

Major: antennal scrobes present; entire dorsal surface of head, except for frontal triangle, covered by longitudinal carinulae, which do not curve inwardly toward midline at occiput; humerus subangulate in dorsal-oblique view; mesonotal convexity absent in both side and dorsal-oblique views; head wider than long (HW/HL 1.04); pronotum lacks transverse carinulae. Minor: longitudinal carinulae stretch from mesopleuron to sides of propodeum. Measurements (mm) Syntype major: HW 1.00, HL 0.96, SL 0.56, EL 0.14, PW 0.50. Syntype minor: PW 0.36 (head missing in syntype available). Color Major: concolorous light reddish brown. Minor: body brownish yellow (color of head unknown).

Range Costa Rica and Mexico. Longino (1997) does not distinguish this species from striaticeps ^HNS, although the two appear to be different. He reports " striaticeps ^HNS, " which may include both species, from the Atlantic slope to 500 m and Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica.

Biology Longino (1997) reports " striaticeps ^HNS," which as noted, may include both true striaticeps ^HNS and chloe ^HNS, from mature rainforest, nesting beneath the bark of rotten stumps and logs.

Figure Upper: syntype, major. Lower: syntype, minor. COSTA RICA: La Caja, vicinity of San Jose, 1100 m (Paul Biolley). Scale bar = 1 mm.