Pseudomyrmex pallidus
Encyclopedia
Pseudomyrmex pallidus is a species of ant
found in the Nearctic ecozone with an extensive range throughout the southern United States
to Central America
.
scapes and a well-developed sting
. Head widths measure 0.68–0.89 millimeters. The surface of the head is shiny, due to the lack of a fine hairy covering. Workers of P. pallidus are monomorphic.
Both virgin female and male reproductives are winged. Mated queens in the nest can be identified by scars on their thorax where the wings were previously attached. They can also be identified by their distended gaster
s. Males are dark brown, with curved antenna
e and small heads.
s and 20–200 workers. Colonies are also polydomous, where a colony consists of more than one nest site. Queenless colonies containing only brood and workers have been found, suggesting that these function as auxiliary brood rearing sites. Workers are produced throughout the year, as are reproductive females. However, males appear to only be produced during the summer and the fall seasons, as they are absent from nests collected in the winter.
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
found in the Nearctic ecozone with an extensive range throughout the southern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
.
Morphology
Workers are yellow, orange, or brown. They are slender with large eyes, short antennalAntenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
scapes and a well-developed sting
Stinger
-Biology:* Stinger, an organ or body part found in various animals that usually delivers some kind of venom.* Stinger , a minor neurological injury suffered by athletes.-Sports and entertainment:...
. Head widths measure 0.68–0.89 millimeters. The surface of the head is shiny, due to the lack of a fine hairy covering. Workers of P. pallidus are monomorphic.
Both virgin female and male reproductives are winged. Mated queens in the nest can be identified by scars on their thorax where the wings were previously attached. They can also be identified by their distended gaster
Gaster
The gaster is the bulbous posterior portion of the metasoma found in Apocrita Hymenoptera . This begins with abdominal segment III on most ants, but some make a postpetiole out of segment III, in which case the gaster begins with abdominal segment IV....
s. Males are dark brown, with curved antenna
Antenna (biology)
Antennae in biology have historically been paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. More recently, the term has also been applied to cilium structures present in most cell types of eukaryotes....
e and small heads.
Habitat
Nests of this species are found in the hollow stems of dead grasses. Although they show a preference for herbaceous plants, nests have also been found in the dead stems of woody twigs. Nests are generally found at the intersection of grassy and wooded habitats, possibly due to shading from the canopy in warmer months and exposure to sunlight in colder months. The entrance to the colony consists of a round to oblong entrance measuring 1–2 mm (0.0393700787401575–0.078740157480315 ) on the face of the stem, and can easily be plugged by the body of a single worker to prevent access to the brood by predators. Stems containing P. pallidus are 5 millimetre in diameter, and the excavated chambers are 11.8 centimetre long.Diet
Colonies reared in the laboratory will readily accept sucrose solution and dead insect parts as a food source, which suggest that their diet in the field consist of floral secretions such as nectar, and insect prey. Food stores are not found in nests collected in the field, neither are they found in colonies raised in laboratory observation nests. This implies that any food brought into the nest is directly fed to nestmates and larvae.Colony structure
Colonies are facultatively polygynous, consisting of 1–15 queen antQueen ant
A queen ant is an adult, reproducing female ant in an ant colony; generally she will be the mother of all the other ants in that colony. Some female ants do not need to mate to produce offspring, reproducing through asexual parthenogenesis or cloning and all of those offspring will be female.Ant...
s and 20–200 workers. Colonies are also polydomous, where a colony consists of more than one nest site. Queenless colonies containing only brood and workers have been found, suggesting that these function as auxiliary brood rearing sites. Workers are produced throughout the year, as are reproductive females. However, males appear to only be produced during the summer and the fall seasons, as they are absent from nests collected in the winter.