Morphology and Phenology of Sexuals and New Distribution Data on the Blind Mediterranean Ant Hypoponera abeillei (hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Hypoponera abeillei is the sole member of the otherwise exclusively Afrotropical abeillei group to occur in the West-Palearctic. Since its description about 140 years ago, it has remained little-known. Workers of this species are thought to entirely lack eyes. On the other hand, the male caste was described from 4 Tunisian specimens in 1921, and queens remain undescribed. We present an updated description of the male caste based on 62 specimens and a description of the queen caste. The H. abeillei material we examined comes from Italy, Spain, and Malta and comprises 11 new distribution records, including the first findings in the islands of Mallorca, Malta, and Sardinia. We provide a first phenological overview of the species' nuptial flights. Our data show that H. abeillei sexuals fly during the summer, mostly in August. We demonstrate that they can easily be distinguished from all the other Hypoponera species inhabiting the Mediterranean region based on their morphology. The remarkable diversity of Mediterranean Hypoponera males and queens suggest that sexuals may have a role in future attempts to understand relationships within this genus. Yet, the number of species in which sexual castes are documented is still extremely reduced.
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | artículo biblioteca |
| Published: |
Open Journals
2021-12-23
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| Subjects: | Ponerinae, Reproductive castes, Nuptial flights, Queen, Gyne, Male, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/263749 |
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| Summary: | Hypoponera abeillei is the sole member of the otherwise exclusively Afrotropical abeillei group to occur in the West-Palearctic. Since its description about 140 years ago, it has remained little-known. Workers of this species are thought to entirely lack eyes. On the other hand, the male caste was described from 4 Tunisian specimens in 1921, and queens remain undescribed. We present an updated description of the male caste based on 62 specimens and a description of the queen caste. The H. abeillei material we examined comes from Italy, Spain, and Malta and comprises 11 new distribution records, including the first findings in the islands of Mallorca, Malta, and Sardinia. We provide a first phenological overview of the species' nuptial flights. Our data show that H. abeillei sexuals fly during the summer, mostly in August. We demonstrate that they can easily be distinguished from all the other Hypoponera species inhabiting the Mediterranean region based on their morphology. The remarkable diversity of Mediterranean Hypoponera males and queens suggest that sexuals may have a role in future attempts to understand relationships within this genus. Yet, the number of species in which sexual castes are documented is still extremely reduced. |
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