Ce genre parait au premier abord tres facile a distinguer des Plagiolepis , par l'epinotum tres anguleux au-dessus des stomates et l'ecaille ordinairement bicuspide, mais les passages au sous-genre Anacantholepis sont frequents et alors la distinction ne repose plus que sur le developpement accentue des ocelles, la variabilite de la taille ou la forme plus anguleuse de l'epinotum.
Europ. Formicid., p. 42.
Angles de l'epinotum tres saillants, tubercules, dentes ou epineux. Suture mesonotale presente chez les especes courtes, effacee chez les formes allongees. Ecaille bicuspide ou inerme. Ocelles presents. Tout l'ancien continent.
Worker medium-sized to very small, monomorphic or feebly polymorphic. Mandibles rather narrow, with oblique, usually 5-toothed, apical borders. Clypeus large, convex, carinate or subcarinate, lozenge-shaped, its anterior border arched and projecting somewhat over the bases of the mandibles. Maxillary palpi 6-jointed, labial palpi 4-jointed. Frontal carinae short, subparallel, rather far apart. Frontal area poorly denned. Antennae 11-jointed, inserted very near the clypeal suture, the funiculi slender, gradually thickened towards their tips, the first joint long, the remaining joints gradually lengthening distally, the terminal joint elongate. Eyes moderately large and flat, placed in front of the middle of the head. Ocelli usually absent. Thorax short, more or less constricted in the mesonotal region, the epinotum simple and unarmed. Petiole with its scale anteriorly inclined, its superior border entire. Gaster rather voluminous, elliptical. Legs slender. Gizzard with the calyx strongly reflexed, parasol-shaped.
Female much larger than the worker. Head small, thorax and gaster massive, the mesonotum somewhat flattened above, the gaster elliptical. Antennae 11-jointed. Wings long, with one cubital cell and usually without a discoidal cell.
Male somewhat smaller than the female. Mandibles acutely toothed. Frontal area large. Antennae 12-jointed, with long scapes; funiculi with elongate first joint. Thorax voluminous, mesonotum large, flattened above, covering the small pronotum. Petiole as in the female. External genital valves large, rounded. Wings as iu the female.
Pupae enclosed in cocoons.
Santschi has recently separated the genus into three subgenera: Plagiolepis , sensu stricto, Anacantholepis , and Anoplolepis , on the structure of the mesonotum.
A single introduced species, P. alluaudi Emery , has been recorded from the state (Catalina Island). The genus is of Old World origin. References: Smith (1958b), Smith (1979), Wilson and Taylor (1967).
Plagiolepis Mayr , 1861. Europ. Formicid Wien.: 52
Type-species: Formica pygmaea Latreille , 1798, Fourmis de la France: 45.
Diagnosis: Mandibles with five teeth, palp formula 6,4, antenna 11 - segmented, alitrunk short, in dorsal view, metanotum separated from mesonotum by impressed suture, propodeum unarmed, petiole a reduced scale.
Distribution: Palaearctic, Ethiopian, Oriental, Australian, Polynesian, Nearactic & Neotropical regions.
Santschi, 1914, Voyage Alluaud Jeannel, Afr. Or., Formicidae , p. 123.
[[ worker ]]. Antennes de 11 articles. Epinotum mutique. Metanotum soude avec le mesonotum. Articles 2 et 3 du funicule bien plus allonges dans leur ensemble que le premier du funicule. Taille moyenne, ou variable.
Ce genre reste ainsi limite a de petites especes comme chez Brachymyrmex et ne depassant que rarement 2 mm. chez la [[ worker ]]. Le mesonotum est ici-tres apparent. Ocelles absents ou peu developpes. [[ worker ]] isomorphes ou presque.
Mayr., 1861, Europ. Formicid. p. 42. Emery, 1925, Gen. Insect., Formicinae , p. 19.
Mesonotum non saillant sur le profil, epinotum non releve, deprime ou peu convexe. Tout l'ancien continent. Ocelles absents. Type: Formica pygmeae Latreille , 1798.
Zweites und drittes Geisselglied zusammen etwas kuerzer als das erste; die Glieder der Geissel cylindrisch. Clypeus vorne nicht geleistet (gerandet). Aeussere Genitalklappen rundlich, am Ende mit einer stumpfen zahnartigen Platte.
Plagiolepis is an ant genus of the formic acid-producing subfamily Formicinae.[2] The genus is found in tropical and temperate regions of the Old World.[3]
Plagiolepis is an ant genus of the formic acid-producing subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found in tropical and temperate regions of the Old World.
