Technomyrmex albipes (F. Smith, 1861)

Yamane, Seiki, Leong, Chi-Man & Lin, Chung-Chi, 2018, Taiwanese species of the ant genus Technomyrmex (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae), Zootaxa 4410 (1), pp. 35-56 : 37-39

Technomyrmex albipes (F. Smith, 1861)

( FIg. 2 )

Worker diagnosis. MEASUREMENTS (N=5). TL AROUND 2.6, HW 0.53–0.57, HL 0.56–0.60, SL 0.50–0.53, CI 93–95, SI 93–96. HEAD SLIgHTLY LONgER THAN bROAD. WITH HEAD IN PROFILE, EYE LOCATED IN FRONT OF MIDLENgTH OF HEAD. MANDIbLE WITHOUT LONgITUDINAL gROOVE ( FIg. 2C ). DORSUM OF HEAD bEHIND LEVEL OF POSTERIOR MARgIN OF EYE WITHOUT STANDINg HAIRS ( FIg. 1H ). STANDINg HAIRS ON gASTRAL TERgITES II & III RELATIVELY SHORT, AT MOST AS LONg AS ANTENNAL PEDICEL . BODY ALMOST ENTIRELY bLACK, EXCEPT FOR TARSI OF LEgS AND TIP OF ANTENNA YELLOWISH.

Distribution. ORIENTAL (NEW TO TAIWAN) AND INDO-MALAYAN REgIONS, HAWAII, OCEANIA, AFROTROPICAL AND PALEARCTIC (EUROPE) REgIONS, CARIbbEAN ISLANDS (FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE BOLTON, 2007, ANTWEb V7.3.5, 2017).

Specimens examined ( NMNS, SKYC, TFRI) . NANTOU COUNTY: 2 WORKERS, HUISUN EXP . FOREST (500–800 M ALT.) 24.0896°N, 121.0305°E, 27–30.IV.2017, C. M. LEONg LEg. TAITUNg COUNTY: 16 WORKERS, CHIHPEN ( HOTEL gARDEN), 24.IV.2010, SK . YAMANE (TW10-SKY-15).

Remarks. THIS SMALL ANT IS A FAMOUS TRAMP WIDELY FOUND IN WARMER REgIONS OF THE WORLD. UNTIL BOLTON (2007) PUbLISHED THE EXCELLENT REVISION SEVERAL RELATED SPECIES IN THE T. albipes gROUP HAD bEEN CONFUSED WITH T. albipes . ACCORDINg TO BOLTON (2007) MOST OF THE PREVIOUS RECORDS FOR ‘ T. albipes ’ FROM CHINA, TAIWAN AND JAPAN (Eg., TERAYAMA, 1991; YAMAUCHI et al., 1991; JAPANESE ANT DATAbASE gROUP, 2003) WERE PRObAbLY bASED ON MISIDENTIFICATIONS. ALTHOUgH BOLTON (2007) DID NOT CITE ANY RECORD OF T. albipes FROM THAILAND, INDOCHINA, CHINA, TAIWAN AND JAPAN, THIS SPECIES ACTUALLY OCCURS IN MOST OF THESE AREAS (e.g., JAITRONg et al., 2016; YAMANE, UNPUbL.); HOWEVER, JAPAN APPARENTLY LACKS IT (TERAYAMA et al., 2014). ALTHOUgH TERAYAMA (2009) EXCLUDED THIS SPECIES FROM THE ANT FAUNA OF TAIWAN, RECENT COLLECTIONS REVEALED ITS OCCURRENCE THERE.

ALTHOUgH BOLTON (2007) RESOLVED MOST TAXONOMIC CONFUSION IN THIS SPECIES gROUP, THERE STILL REMAIN SOME UNSOLVED PRObLEMS. FOR EXAMPLE, VERY RESTRICTED INFORMATION IS AVAILAbLE AbOUT THE NESTINg HAbITS OF T. albipes IN SPITE OF ITS COMMON OCCURRENCE AS A TRAMP . BOLTON ENUMERATED A FEW INSTANCES FOR THE NESTINg SITE OF THIS SPECIES, NAMELY, INTERNODES OF A MYRMECOPHYTE, PLANT SPATHES AND ROT HOLES IN WOOD. HOWEVER, SOME CARTON NESTS ON TREE LEAVES HAVE bEEN FOUND IN BORNEO AND MALAY PENINSULA FOR ‘ THIS SPECIES’ AS WELL AS NESTS IN RESTRICTED SPACES SUCH AS ROTTINg WOOD , DEAD TWIgS ETC. (YAMANE AND TSUjI, PERSONAL ObS.). THIS SUggESTS THAT T. albipes (sensu BOLTON) MAY ACTUALLY bE A COMPLEX OF SIbLINg SPECIES. MORE INFORMATION ON NESTINg SITE AND DNA DATA FROM VARIOUS LOCALITIES ARE NEEDED TO RESOLVE THIS PRObLEM.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Technomyrmex workers. Clypeus: A, T. formosensis sp. nov. (YLL12) & B, T. brunneus (LCM00042). Habitus (profile): C, T. formosensis sp. nov. (YLL12) & D, T. horni (LCM00066). Mandible: E, T. brunneus (LCM00042) & F, T. albipes (LCM00068). VerteX:G, T.difficilis (LCM00067) & H, T.albpes (LCM00068).

FIGURE2. Technomyrmex albipes worker (LCM00068).A, habitus in profile,B, dittoin dorsal view & C, head in full-faceview.