Trachymyrmex smithi (lat.) - a species of ants of the tribe of mushrooms Attini (genus Trachymyrmex ) from the myrmycin subfamily. USA ( New Mexico , Texas ) and Mexico ( Chihuahua and Coahuila ). It is found in the mountain deserts of Chihuahua and Coahuila [2] .
| Trachymyrmex smithi |
Worker Trachymyrmex smithi |
| Scientific classification |
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| No rank : | Bilateral symmetrical |
| Subtype : | Tracheo-breathing |
| Infraclass : | Winged insects |
| Treasure : | Fully Transformed Insects |
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| International scientific name |
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Trachymyrmex smithi Buren, 1944 [1] |
| Synonyms |
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- Trachymyrmex neomexicanus : Rabeling, Cover, et al. 2007: 20 [2] .
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Content
Small ants are brownish in color. The length of the workers 'head (HL) is within 0.94-1.25 mm (1.2 mm for the queens), the width of the workers' head (HW) 1.0-1.4 mm (1.35-1 for queens) , 4 mm). Antennae consist of 11 segments, without an explicit club. The body is covered with numerous tubercles (each with a hair) and spines. They live in earthy nests, under the stones and roots of plants. Characterized by their close symbiosis with fungi grown in anthills [2] . Families are small, with about 1000 ants [3] . Colony activity and the number of mushroom chambers are reduced from November to May [4] . Foraging occurs mainly at night, as the temperature of the soil reaches +50 ° C during the day [5] .
The species was first described in 1944 by the American entomologist William F. Buren (1916-1983) and named after the American worldmecologist Marion R. Smith (1894-1981), curator of the museum in Washington (National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC) [6] .
- ↑ Buren, WF A new fungus growing ant from Mexico (English) // Psyche . - Camb. , 1944. - Vol. 51 . - P. 5-7 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Rabeling, C., SP Cover, RA Johnson, and UG Mueller. A review of the North American species of the fungus-gardening ant genus Trachymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (English) // Zootaxa . - Auckland, New Zealand: Magnolia Press, 2007 .-- Vol. 1664 . - P. 1-53 . - ISSN 1175-5326 .
- ↑ Schumacher, A. & Whitford, WG (1974) The foraging ecology of two species of Chihuahuan desert ants: Formica perpilosa and Trachyrmyrmex smithi neomexicanus (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux, 21, 317-330.
- ↑ Schuhmacher, A. & Whitford, WG (1976) Spatial and temporal variation in Chihuahuan desert ant faunas. The Southwestern Naturalist, 21, 1-8.
- ↑ Whitford, WG (1978). Structure and seasonal activity of Chihuahuan desert ant communities. - Insectes Sociaux, 25, 79-88.
- ↑ Buren, WF 1944. A new fungus growing ant from Mexico. - Psyche (Camb.) 51: 5-7
- La Polla, JS, Mueller, UG, Seid, M. & Cover, SP Predation by the army ant Neivamyrmex rugulosus on the fungus-growing ant Trachymyrmex arizonensis (English) // Insectes Sociaux. - 2002. - Vol. 49 . - P. 251-256 .
- Cole, AC A new subspecies of Trachymyrmex smithi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from New Mexico (Eng.) // Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science. - 1952. - Vol. 27 . - P. 159-162 .
- Johnson, TA, Lenhart, P., Del Toro, S., Dash, ST, Del Toro, I. & Mackay, W. A natural history study on Trachymyrmex smithi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the El Paso, Texas region .) // Abstract for: Entomological Society of America Meeting December 2006 .. - 2006.
- Rabeling, C., SP Cover, RA Johnson, and UG Mueller. A review of the North American species of the fungus-gardening ant genus Trachymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (English) // Zootaxa . - Auckland, New Zealand: Magnolia Press, 2007 .-- Vol. 1664 . - P. 1-53 . - ISSN 1175-5326 .
- biolib.cz (English) (Retrieved February 2, 2013)