Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Identification
Minor worker: head length 0.46mm, head width 0.44mm, scape length 0.33mm, Webers length 0.53mm (n=1). Head flattened and somewhat excavate behind; mesonotal suture absent, promesonotum evenly arched; propodeal spines of moderate length; face largely smooth and shining; sides of pronotum smooth and shiny, rest of mesosoma evenly foveolate; gaster smooth and shining; pilosity on face subdecumbent; dorsal pilosity moderately abundant, moderately long, flexuous; color brown.
Major worker: head length 0.88mm, head width 0.69mm, scape length 0.39mm (n=1). Deep antennal scrobes present, margined both above and below with carinae; anterior ends of frontal carinae, clypeus, and upper surfaces of mandibles together forming a concave disk (presumably for phragmotic function); face entirely foveolate, puncta overlaying reticulate rugose sculpture on posterior face and vertex lobes; hypostomal margin semicircular, concave, with a small, inconspicuous median tooth, and no teeth between median tooth and recessed teeth flanking mandible bases; dorsal pilosity abundant, short, scruffy; head with abundant setae projecting from sides of head in face view.
Range
Costa Rica: Penas Blancas.
Natural History
This species inhabits wet forest, and is presumably arboreal, nesting in live plant stems.
Selected Records
Penas Blancas Valley: nest in a small chamber in dense wood, in a recent branchfall, in primary wet forest.
Penas Blancas Valley: nest obtained by Eric Bello while collecting botanical specimens.
Penas Blancas Valley: workers, including soldiers, in a vial with Simopelta. The Pheidole were not observed in the field, when the collection of Simopelta was made, but discovered when the specimens were processed in the lab. The Pheidole were probably prey of the Simopelta (Simopelta is a ponerine with convergent, army ant like behavior).
Page authors:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu
Stefan Cover, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA. scover@oeb.harvard.edu
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