It usually nests in soil or under stones and usually prefers disturbed habitats. On Fiji it was collected in elevations between 1–800 m and tended to inhabit several different habitats from forest edge and mangrove forest to disturbed and undisturbed rainforest. On Mauritius, which seems to be its western distribution limit, this ant was found in the leaf litter of lowland rainforest (200 m elevation). As with most other introduced ants, such as P. teneriffana, it is unclear what effect, if any, P. fervens might have on the rest of the local ant fauna. Considering that the ecosystems of the Mauritius islands have been severely altered and disturbed since the arrival of human settlers several hundred years ago, and native species must also contend with the invasions of introduced organisms, parts of the original ant fauna might have been marginalized or driven to extinction long ago. Fischer & Fisher (2013) speculate that the scarcity of P. fervens specimens in Mauritius ant collections and its presence in the rainforest means that this ant has not yet become an invasive and dominant aggressor toward other ant species. Nevertheless, efforts to further investigate the presence and activity of introduced Pheidole species are worthwhile, especially in the few remaining undisturbed habitats.[1]
Description
The workers of P. fervens can be easily confused with those of P. teneriffana. Morphologically the minor workers are best separated by coarse, mostly suberect scape pilosity, impressed metanotal groove, relatively smaller eyes and shorter spines in P. fervens versus decumbent to subdecumbent scape pilosity with longer suberect hairs along outer edge, inconspicuous metanotal groove in profile, and larger eyes and longer spines in P. teneriffana. The major workers of P. fervens are recognizable by having longer scapes and a narrower postpetiole in dorsal view than P. teneriffana. In P. fervens, the pilosity in the face and on the metatibia is coarser and at least partly suberect, and the punctures on the sides of the face are stronger than the thinner and more decumbent to subdecumbent pilosity and superficial punctures on the sides of the face in P. teneriffana.[1]
Related Research Articles
The yellow crazy ant, also known as the long-legged ant or Maldive ant, is a species of ant, thought to be native to West Africa or Asia. They have been accidentally introduced to numerous places in the world's tropics.
Myrmicaria brunnea is a species of ant that is native to southern Asia. They have a distinctive down-curved abdomen and spines on the thorax.
Leptomyrmex, or spider ants, is a genus of ants and a distinctive member of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae. Commonly known as "spider ants" for their long legs and spider-like movements, these orange and black ants are prominent residents of intact wet forest and sclerophyll habitats throughout their range. One extant species, Leptomyrmex relictus, is known from central Brazil; otherwise, the global distribution of this genus is restricted to eastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Guinea, as well as the nearby Indonesian islands of Aru and Seram.
Pheidole megacephala is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is commonly known as the big-headed ant in the USA and the coastal brown ant in Australia. It is a very successful invasive species and is considered a danger to native ants in Australia and other places. It is regarded as one of the world's worst invasive ant species.
The longhorn crazy ant, also known as "black crazy ant", is a species of small, dark-coloured insect in the family Formicidae. These ants are commonly called "crazy ants" because instead of following straight lines, they dash around erratically. They have a broad distribution, including much of the tropics and subtropics, and are also found in buildings in more temperate regions, making them one of the most widespread ant species in the world. This species, as well as all others in the ant subfamily Formicinae, cannot sting. However, this species can fire/shoot a formic acid spray from its abdomen when under attack by other insects or attacking other insects. When the longhorn crazy ant bends its abdomen while aiming at an enemy insect, it is most likely shooting its hard-to-see acid. This acid is normally not used on humans and normally does not affect humans. The black crazy ant can not harm humans in any way. These ants can be touched safely just like the common ghost ants.
Nylanderia is a large genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus has a nearly cosmopolitan distribution with species inhabiting a wide array of habitats in almost all geographic regions. Nylanderia, currently containing over 110 species, is an ecologically important genus, with some species reported as being invasive. The ants are small to medium in size and range in color from pale yellow to black.
Pheidole komori is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole parva is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole ragnax is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole teneriffana is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole dodo is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is named after the dodo, an extinct bird of Mauritius.
Lordomyrma reticulata is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole megatron is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole braueri is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole loki is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole decepticon is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole vulcan is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole jonas is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pristomyrmex tsujii is a species of ant in the genus Pristomyrmex. Known from Fiji, where they are widely distributed but rarely encountered. The species has a discrete ergatoid queen caste that is intermediate between a worker and an alate queen.
In ecology, a tramp species is an organism that has been spread globally by human activities. The term was coined by William Morton Wheeler in the bulletin of the American museum of natural history in 1906, used to describe ants that “have made their way as well known tramps or stow-aways[sic] to many islands The term has since widened to include non-ant organisms, but remains most popular in myrmecology. Tramp species have been noted in multiple phyla spanning both animal and plant kingdoms, including but not limited to arthropods, mollusca, bryophytes, and pteridophytes. The term "tramp species" was popularized and given a more set definition by Luc Passera in his chapter of David F William's 1994 book Exotic Ants: Biology, Impact, And Control Of Introduced Species.
R* This article incorporates text from a scholarly publication published under a copyright license that allows anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute the materials in any form for any purpose: *Fischer, G.; Fisher, B.L. (2013), "A revision of Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean and designation of a neotype for the invasive Pheidole megacephala", Zootaxa, 3683 (4): 301–356, doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3683.4.1 Please check the source for the exact licensing terms.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
