This manuscript name is a conditional proposal by E. O. Wilson (sensu Article 15 of the 1985 ICZN), and thus not made available here. Its appearance here or in any duplication of this page does not constitute publication (sensu Article 8 of the 1985 ICZN).
Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Above images from Volcan Barva population.
Range
Costa Rica: Monteverde.
Identification
Minor worker: head length 0.57mm, head width 0.54mm, scape length 0.54mm, Webers length 0.72mm (n=1). Head flattened behind, with median excavation; promesonotal suture weakly impressed; metanotal groove well impressed; propodeal spines of moderate length, upturned; face and most of mesosoma shallowly foveolate-aereolate; sides of pronotum and medial portion of katepisternum smooth and shining; gaster smooth and shining; mesosomal dorsum with moderately abundant, long flexuous setae; color yellow.
Major worker: head length 0.97mm, head width 0.96mm, scape length 0.59mm (n=1). Most of face shallowly foveolate-aereolate, overlain with longitudinal rugae; vertex lobes smooth and shining; hypostomal margin flat, with pair of stout teeth 1/3 distance from midline to small recessed teeth flanking mandibles, no median tooth; mesosomal dorsum and gaster with moderately abundant, flexuous setae; abundant short suberect setae projecting from sides of head in face view.
Natural History
Until recently this species was known from one collection. Phil Ward collected the species in a rotten log in Monteverde, in 1979. Longino recently made a second collection from a 2000m elevation site in Braulio Carrillo National Park. The collection was made during the Project ALAS expedition to the Vara Blanca site along the Volcan Barva transect. The site is cloud forest, with heavy epiphyte loads on all the larger trees. Nests of Pheidole humida were found beneath epiphytes in a fresh treefall in mature forest.
It is notable that Pheidole humida has not been collected in Monteverde since Ward's original collection, in spite of abundant collecting in the area by Longino and Cover. Perhaps climate change has driven it out of Monteverde, along with the golden toads.
Selected Records
Label data on MCZ specimen: Costa Rica: Monteverde, Puntarenas Prov., 20.v.1979, 1550m, P. Ward #3450.
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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