Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802)

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. - Cosmopolite.

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Sourcehttp://antbase.org/ants/publications/3954/3954.pdf

Diagnosis of worker among Antkey species. Worker castes monomorphic. Antenna 12-segmented. Antennal club indistinct. Antennal scape length greater than 1.5x head length. Eyes medium to large (greater than 5 facets); break outline of head. Dorsum of mesosoma with metanotal impression, but never with a deep and broad concavity. Propodeum and petiolar node both lacking a pair of short teeth. Propodeum lacking posteriorly projecting protrusion. Metapleuron with a distinct gland orifice. Waist 1-segmented (may be hidden by gaster). Petiole upright and not appearing flattened. Gaster armed with acidopore. Erect hairs long thick and produced in pairs. Color dark brown to black.

Among introduced and commonly intercepted ants of the United States, P. longicornis is recognizable by its extremely long antennae and legs. Anoplolepis gracilipes is the only other species under consideration with antennal scapes greater than 1.5x head, and P. longicornis is easily differentiated by its darker color (dark brown to black versus light yellowish to reddish brown) and by its long, stiff pilosity that is arranged in pairs. Paraparatrechina is differentiated from Nylanderia by its bulging eyes which break the head outline (versus do not break head outline), and by its longer antennal scapes.

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Rights holder/AuthorEli Sarnat, Antkey
Sourcehttp://antkey.org/content/paratrechina-longicornis-2

1. Pr. longicornis (Latr) HNS .

= Formica vagans (Jerdon) HNS . = Tapinoma gracilescens (Nylander) HNS . = Paratrechina currens (Motschulsky) HNS .

Tres commune dans l'Inde entiere, de l'Himalaya (Dehra Dun) a Bombay, a Calcutta et a Ceylan d'ou on la recoit a chaque envoi. Espece cosmopolite, transportee par les vaisseaux.

  • Forel, A. (1894): Les formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part IV. Adjonction aux genres Camponotus, Mayr., et Polyrhachis, Shuck. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 8, 396-420: 408-408, URL:http://antbase.org/ants/publications/3951/3951.pdf
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Rights holder/AuthorNo 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.
Sourcehttp://treatment.plazi.org/id/00B0585DA84EBF7EB9242FAC1BF724BD

. Java (cosmopolite).

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Sourcehttp://research.amnh.org/entomology/social_insects/ants/publications/3994/3994.pdf

Anoplolepis gracilipes, Nylanderia species.

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Rights holder/AuthorEli Sarnat, Antkey
Sourcehttp://antkey.org/content/paratrechina-longicornis-2

1. Prenolepis longicornis, Latr HNS ..

. (No. 17).

(17). A common species about houses and open places, not far from sea-level. The formicarium is subterranean and extensive, with passages half an inch in diameter to the open ground above, or under stones. ' The colony contains many hundreds or thousands of individuals. The winged forms and larvae are often exposed by turning over stones, but the ants carry them rapidly to lower parts of the nest, six inches or more below the surface. The workers are very active and bold; when foraging they run jerkily from side to side. They are especially fond of dead animal matter. When working over insects I have often been amused, as well as annoyed, to observe the boldness of these little foragers. If an ant discovers' one of the insects she seizes it at once, and tries to drag it from the table. If I brush her off, she dodges around and behind the precious morsei, and seizes it again. Driven quite away, she runs to some shelter, but returns almost immediately, trying to drag the insect even from my fingers; and nothing short of mutilation or death will effectually stop her. One ant will drag away a load ten times as large and heavy as herself, always walking backwards, and pulling the prize after her. If it is too heavy for her unaided efforts, she runs for other foragers. As soon as she finds a companion she communicates her excitement with a touch of the antennae and both return to drag off the prize. I have seen perhaps a hundred of these ants dragging a dead lizard across the floor; the lizard was about five inches long, and the ants dragged it more than a foot in ten minutes. I never saw these ants stop to feed on a discovered morsel; the first impulse is always to drag it away. They work during the day, and also, it would seem, at night. Apparently they require water, and they may be found in water jars and tumblers drinking. They can also make their way over the surface of still water; so that food placed in a dish which is set in a plate of water is not always protected. I have seen about fifty of these ants dragging a large cockroach about three feet up a perpendicular smooth-plastered wall.

(17 a). Thicket by the seashore near Wallibou (leeward). Oct. 8 th. Large colony under a stone. The males were numerous, ' females less so.

(17 b). Golden Grove House (leeward). Oct. 29 th. 400 ft. above the sea. Apparently there are several colonies above the house. Great numbers of the workers, with larvae, were found under a stone, collected in crevices of the lower surface; tunnels extended below to six inches or more.

(17 c). Near Kingstown. Oct. 17 th. Large formicarium under a stone; open hill-side, 500 ft. above the sea.

(17 d). Seashore thickets near Chateaubelais (leeward). September. Beaten from vines.

(17 e). Windward side. Open land near sea-level at Grand Sable, Jan. 3 rd. From several nests under stones. The species is common on the windward coast.

  • Forel, A. (1893): Formicides de l'Antille St. Vincent. Récoltées par Mons. H. H. Smith. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1893, 333-418: 337-338, URL:http://research.amnh.org/entomology/social_insects/ants/publications/3948/3948.pdf
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Rights holder/AuthorNo 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.
Sourcehttp://treatment.plazi.org/id/00ADEB180100010E9947DF573D6B6A35

. Coetivy. Espece cosmopolite, transportee partout par les navires.

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Sourcehttp://antbase.org/ants/publications/4010/4010.pdf

19. Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille) HNS

(*) (14, w; 20, w; 34, w q; 37, w; 41, w; 42, w; 44, w). This lowland species is found only in urban parks or suburban dirty habitats.

  • Espadaler, X. (2007): The ants of El Hierro (Canary Islands). In: Snelling, R. R., Fisher, B. L., Ward, P. S. (Eds): Advances in ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Homage to E. O. Wilson - 50 years of contributions. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 80, 113-127: 121-121, URL:http://plazi.org:8080/dspace/handle/10199/15379
LicensePublic Domain
Rights holder/AuthorNo 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.
Sourcehttp://treatment.plazi.org/id/F88EBC02AE51FB2D951B2BB39C004060

Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille HNS 1802a)

I [introduced species]

  • Ward, P. S. (2005): A synoptic review of the ants of California (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 936, 1-68: null, URL:http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21008/21008.pdf
LicensePublic Domain
Rights holder/AuthorNo 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.
Sourcehttp://treatment.plazi.org/id/F4C42566B3E2004B335E372447D3D818

Taxonomic History:
Formica longicornis Latreille, 1802a: 113 (w.) SENEGAL. AntCat AntWiki

Taxonomic history

Jerdon, 1851 PDF: 124 (q.); André, 1881c PDF: 60 (m.); Hung, Imai & Kubota, 1972 PDF: 1024 (k.); Wheeler & Wheeler, 1986d PDF: 336 (l.); Fox, et al. 2007: 3 (l.).
Combination in Prenolepis: Roger, 1863b PDF: 10; in Paratrechina (Nylanderia): Emery, 1910a PDF: 129; in Paratrechina: Wheeler, 1921e PDF: 112.
Senior synonym of Paratrechina currens: Emery, 1892c PDF: 166; of Paratrechina gracilescens: Roger, 1863b PDF: 10; of Paratrechina vagans: Dalla Torre, 1893: 179.
Senior synonym of Paratrechina hagemanni: LaPolla, Brady & Shattuck, 2010A PDF: 128.
See also: Mayr, 1865: 50; Forel, 1891c PDF: 81; Forel, 1894c PDF: 406; Emery, 1910a PDF: 129; Trager, 1984b PDF: 153.
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Rights holder/AuthorAntWeb
Sourcehttp://www.antweb.org/description.do?genus=paratrechina&name=longicornis&rank=species
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith