From Collingwood (1979) [1]
This genus includes several European species, none of which have occurred in the British Isles, Denmark or Fennoscandia. However one species occurs in the Channel Islands and has been recorded from Belgium and Poland so is briefly described here for completeness.
Minute ants. Polygynous colonies. Nuptial flight between May - June. 17 species from the Mediterranean area.
Garcia, Wiesel and Fischer (2013) - A moderate sized genus with 57 valid species (Bolton, 2012).
Worker
Antennae 11-segmented. Clypeus arched anteriorly. Eyes anterior to the head midline. Alitrunk full. Metanotum obvious. Epinotum wide inerme. Petiole inclined, not echancre from above.
Gynes
Antennae 11-segmented. Alitrunk deprime dorsaly. Forewings with no obvious XXX
Males
Smaller than workers. Head slightly different than gyne's, somewhat wider. Eyes curved and bulky.
Usually nesting under stones. Active colonies have numerous workers. They hide during the warmer periods during summer. Omnivorous. Usually prefer sugary solutions.
Very little is known about their biology; they are small formicines nesting on trees, rotten wood, twigs, or in the soil (Bolton, 1973a).
These ants are easily overlooked owing to the number of minute and similarly coloured species of Iridomyrmex, Tapinoma, Bothriomyrmex or Nylanderia encountered almost everywhere in the Australian bush. (Wheeler 1934)
Rather hard to distinguish the species. Different colorations across colonies. No stable taxonomic characters.
No modern revision or a key to species exist, which is a serious obstacle for the identification of Plagiolepis species.
Hot and subtropical areas.
These ants are restricted to the tropical and temperate regions of the Old World (Robertson, 2000).
Genus Plagiolepis Mayr HNS
A single introduced species, P. alluaudi Emery HNS , has been recorded from the state (Catalina Island). The genus is of Old World origin. References: Smith (1958b), Smith (1979), Wilson and Taylor (1967).
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| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/B5A1EA44CAAD82B7C4218A47A059AD65 |
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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.
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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).
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| Source | http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21008/21008.pdf |
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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.
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| Source | http://plazi.org:8080/dspace/handle/10199/16666 |
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Genus Plagiolepis HNS Mayr, 1861
Plagiolepis HNS Mayr, 1861:42.
Type-species: Formica pygmaea Latreille HNS , 1798.
This genus includes several European species, none of which have occurred in the British Isles, Denmark or Fennoscandia. However one species occurs in the Channel Islands and has been recorded from Belgium and Poland so is briefly described here for completeness.
| License | Public Domain |
| Rights holder/Author | No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation. |
| Source | http://treatment.plazi.org/id/F1C01F36E4A589DEBC5126EAD7CE3E76 |
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.
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| Source | http://antbase.org/ants/publications/3616/3616.pdf |
