Studies on an Enigmatic Blepharidatta Wheeler Population (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Brazilian Caatinga

Abstract

Blepharidatta is a rare Neotropical ant genus formed by predatory species whose small colonies nest in soil or leaf-litter. A population of Blepharidatta that presents affinities with the Cerrado species, Blepharidatta conops Kempf, was found in the Caatinga biome, at the “Reserva Particular do Patrimônio Natural Serra das Almas” (RPPNSA), in Crateús (State of Ceará, northeastern Brazil). The aim of our study was to obtain information on nest architecture, size and composition of colonies, foraging behavior, and female castes morphology in this newly found population, and to compare it with other Blepharidatta species, particularly B. conops. The results show that Blepharidatta sp. and B. conops share key features of their biology like basic nest architecture, diet and foraging behavior, monogyny, and ergatoid queens with a phragmotic head. However, marked differences were also found in queen head and mesosoma morphology, nest architecture, colony size, and queen location in the nest. Two mutually exclusive hypotheses are discussed. The Blepharidatta population found in the RPPNSA would represent a new species, possibly endemic to the Caatinga biome or this population would represent one extreme of the phenotypic variations observed in populations forming B. conops species.

Taxonomic revision of the Neotropical Myrmicinae ant genus Blepharidatta Wheeler

“…5). Pereira et al (2014) also described the striking similarities among B. conops populations and that of Crateús, Ceará, in nest architecture, in prey diversity found inside nests and the carcass rings, preferred daily time for foraging activities (with two peaks of activity), and other traits. Additionally, the measurements of the Ceará workers and gynes fall well within the range of other B. conops population measurements.…”

“…Pereira et al (2014) studied a population of B. conops with 29 nests in Crateús, Ceará state. All but one of these nests were excavated in the soil; one odd nest also occupied part of a hollow dry branch fallen on the soil.…”

“…Populations are rather dense, although separated sometimes by several kilometers, reflecting the low dispersal ability of ergatoid gynes. Pereira et al (2014) argue that B. conops populations from Ceará could represent a distinct although closely related species, mostly because of the almost flat anterior cephalic disks of Ceará ergatoids (Fig. 2E) and because this population was collected in a locality within the semi-arid Caatinga, while other B. conops populations come from central Brazil savannas.…”

An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhão, Brazil

“…References and their respective areas that have records of ants collected in the state of Maranhão. Behavioral Wheeler, 1922;Monnin et al, 2003;Silva, 2007;Pereira et al, 2014Ecological Brandão et al, 2011Ramos et al, 2015;Silva et al, 2017;Gutiérrez et al, 2017Forensic Andrade-Silva et al, 2015Pereira et al, 2017Genetics Wauters et al, 2018Inventory Dáttilo et al, 2012Occurrence Dáttilo et al, 2010Sanitary Carvalho et al, 2011Silva et al, 2012;Lima et al, 2013Taxonomic Forel, 1904Mann, 1916;Gonçalves, 1942Gonçalves, , 1947Borgmeier, 1955;Kempf, 1959Kempf, , 1960aKempf, , 1960bGonçalves, 1961;Kempf, 1964Kempf, , 1968Kempf, , 1971Kempf, , 1972aKempf, , 1972bKempf, , 1975Watkins, 1976;Ward, 1989;Brandão, 1991;De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999;Ward, 1999;Cuezzo, 2000;Longino & Snelling, 2002;Ward & Downie, 2005;Shoemaker et al, 2006;Wild & Cuezzo, 2006;Feitosa et al, 2007;…”

First Cytogenetic Study Through Conventional Staining of The Ant Genus Blepharidatta Wheeler, 1915 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Attini)

“…Out of the four valid species in this genus, Blepharidatta brasiliensis (Wheeler 1915), Blepharidatta conops (Kempf 1967), Blepharidatta delabiei (Brandão et al, 2015), and Blepharidatta fernandezi (Brandão et al, 2015), so far there is published data on the biology of only B. conops (Diniz et al, 1998;Brandão et al, 2008;Pereira et al, 2014). Some studies suggested that populations of B. conops found in the Brazilian Caatinga and Cerrado were actually two distinct species based mainly on the distinct morphology of the phragmotic queens (Pereira et al, 2014;Brandão et al, 2015). Blepharidatta delabiei is the most recently described species within the genus (Brandão et al, 2015).…”