15 replies to this topic

[CheetoLord02]

It's been a while since I've made a new post here, but this time I've really got something that'll (hopefully) knock some socks off. I discovered a new ant species - and something rare, too. 

Now, for some background information so we can get an idea of what I found.

 

Solenopsis phoretica-group is a species group of inquiline Solenopsis species that use Pheidole as their hosts. Each species appears to be species-specific, meaning that they are only able to parasitize a single Pheidole species. Ignoring my record, 4 species are known from a total of 6 collections:
 

S. phoretica - Associated with P. dentata
Gilchrist County, Route 47, 2.5 mi. N of junction with Route 232, Florida (1 queen)

Austin, Texas (1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Solenopsis_phoretica

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-6c3prbS

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-FRdSVVf

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-vChwDDZ

 

S. enigmatica - Associated with P. antillana
Dominica (W.I.): Pont Casse, trail to Trois Pitons, 15°22.80’N, 61°20’W (2 workers, 1 queen)
Dominica: Cochrane, W Morne Macaque, Middleham Falls trail (3 workers, 1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Solenopsis_enigmatica

 

Undescribed Solenopsis sp. - Associated with P. tetra

Brackenridge Field Lab, Texas (1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/File:Solenopsis_attached_to_Pheidole_tetra,_Brackenridge_Field_Lab,_Texas,_Alex_Wild.jpg

 

Undescribed Solenopsis sp. - Associated with P. bilimeki
Parque Natural Rio La Silla, Monterrey, Nuevo León (1 queen)

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/122509765
 

Of these species, S. enigmatica is by far the most notable due to the fact that they have known workers that are directly associated with queens. This means that the worker morphology of this species group is not only documented, but it also happens to be quite distinct, making identification of this group quite reliable.

Now, going into what I found:

On November 6th, 2022, I discovered a number of strange yellow-orange workers inside of a Pheidole tepicana colony. These workers were moving within the chambers of the P. tepicana nest. One worker was observed carrying a pupa. After a moment of confusion, I collected 4 of the strange workers alongside 2 supermajors, 2 majors, and 15-20 minor workers of the Pheidole tepicana. For several days these ants were kept alive, and their behaviors documented. The strange orange-ish workers strongly resembled Solenopsis with the naked eye, however no definitive identifications were made until the specimens were sufficiently imaged. No aggression was ever seen between the two species, with the only notable behavior being that the P. tepicana workers would routinely carry the Solenopsis workers, with the latter ants curling up into a pupal position for easier carrying. This behavior was imaged by a friend of mine:

At this point, it was heavily suspected that these ants were in fact Solenopsis, and likely a species in the phoretica-group. To confirm this identification, specimens were taken to Arizona State University's Social Insect Research Group, where two of the four specimens were placed onto point-mounts and imaged. Here is what we found:

 

 

With these images, particularly the last image with a focus on the clypeus, we were able to confirm these ants as being S. phoretica-group, as according to the description of S. enigmatica workers: "Distinguished from other Solenopsis workers by clypeal morphology: clypeus lacking carinae, in lateral view rounded and strongly declivitous." The images of my specimens clearly show a lack of carinae on the clypeus, a trait only shared by S. enigmatica (and likely the unknown workers of the other three S. phoretica-group species). Additionally, the very sparse pilosity and 10-segmented antennae are also traits that are shared by S. enigmatica.


So far, what we can confirm is:

S. phoretica-group species are currently known to be host-specific; one species of Solenopsis has not yet been discovered alongside more than one host species.
The species I have located is S. phoretica-group.
The species I have located uses a host species that has so far been unknown to the group (P. tepicana).

What we can assume is that:

Because S. phoretica-group species are assumed to be host-specific, and the species I have found is using an unknown host, it is very likely that my species has been previously undiscovered.

 

The next steps will, of course, be to get this species officially documented and described. I am going to be sending the images to AntWeb shortly, so that they may be hosted in their database and displayed on their website. Specimens will be kept at ASU for the time being, and I will be looking within the research group there for a collaborator to assist in the process of getting these ants DNA barcoded and possibly described.

 

Finally, here's a short clip of when I first discovered these ants:

[gcsnelling]

Good job, just goes to show that new species are turning up all the time.

[T.C.]

That's awesome. It was always an interest of mine to discover a new species. I've found some rare species, but that's about as far as I got.

[ANTdrew]

Solenopsis cheetoii
Nice work!

[Zeiss]

Well done.  Keep the post updated when you can.

[CheetoLord02]

I wouldn't say to expect any updates soon, but I'll be sure to pop back over here in case any new interesting information is found out. Namely, I'd like to figure out where this species falls on the phylogenetic tree, especially to find whether or not they're more closely related to the 'fire ants' of Solenopsis or the 'thief ants'. I have a personal suspicion that they're closer to the fire ants, but who really knows. I should be able to get DNA work done through ASU, but I have no idea when that'd be able to be done.

As for describing the species, it may not even be possible without a queen specimen, as S. phoretica was originally described from a single queen. However, with S. enigmatica having workers associated with queens, it may be possible to use that species as a basis for description. I'll just have to wait and see, I suppose.

[NicholasP]

 

It's been a while since I've made a new post here, but this time I've really got something that'll (hopefully) knock some socks off. I discovered a new ant species - and something rare, too. 

Now, for some background information so we can get an idea of what I found.

 

Solenopsis phoretica-group is a species group of inquiline Solenopsis species that use Pheidole as their hosts. Each species appears to be species-specific, meaning that they are only able to parasitize a single Pheidole species. Ignoring my record, 4 species are known from a total of 6 collections:
 

S. phoretica - Associated with P. dentata
Gilchrist County, Route 47, 2.5 mi. N of junction with Route 232, Florida (1 queen)

Austin, Texas (1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Solenopsis_phoretica

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-6c3prbS

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-FRdSVVf

https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants/Taxonomic-List-of-Ant-Genera/Solenopsis/i-vChwDDZ

 

S. enigmatica - Associated with P. antillana
Dominica (W.I.): Pont Casse, trail to Trois Pitons, 15°22.80’N, 61°20’W (2 workers, 1 queen)
Dominica: Cochrane, W Morne Macaque, Middleham Falls trail (3 workers, 1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Solenopsis_enigmatica

 

Undescribed Solenopsis sp. - Associated with P. tetra

Brackenridge Field Lab, Texas (1 queen)

https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/File:Solenopsis_attached_to_Pheidole_tetra,_Brackenridge_Field_Lab,_Texas,_Alex_Wild.jpg

 

Undescribed Solenopsis sp. - Associated with P. bilimeki
Parque Natural Rio La Silla, Monterrey, Nuevo León (1 queen)

https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/122509765
 

Of these species, S. enigmatica is by far the most notable due to the fact that they have known workers that are directly associated with queens. This means that the worker morphology of this species group is not only documented, but it also happens to be quite distinct, making identification of this group quite reliable.

Now, going into what I found:

On November 6th, 2022, I discovered a number of strange yellow-orange workers inside of a Pheidole tepicana colony. These workers were moving within the chambers of the P. tepicana nest. One worker was observed carrying a pupa. After a moment of confusion, I collected 4 of the strange workers alongside 2 supermajors, 2 majors, and 15-20 minor workers of the Pheidole tepicana. For several days these ants were kept alive, and their behaviors documented. The strange orange-ish workers strongly resembled Solenopsis with the naked eye, however no definitive identifications were made until the specimens were sufficiently imaged. No aggression was ever seen between the two species, with the only notable behavior being that the P. tepicana workers would routinely carry the Solenopsis workers, with the latter ants curling up into a pupal position for easier carrying. This behavior was imaged by a friend of mine:

IMG_4077.jpg


At this point, it was heavily suspected that these ants were in fact Solenopsis, and likely a species in the phoretica-group. To confirm this identification, specimens were taken to Arizona State University's Social Insect Research Group, where two of the four specimens were placed onto point-mounts and imaged. Here is what we found:

_S_phoretica_group_P_final-jpeg.jpg

_S_phoretica_group_D_final-jpeg.jpg

_S_phoretica_group_H_final-jpeg.jpg

_S_phoretica_group_clypeus_final-jpeg.jpg

 

 

With these images, particularly the last image with a focus on the clypeus, we were able to confirm these ants as being S. phoretica-group, as according to the description of S. enigmatica workers: "Distinguished from other Solenopsis workers by clypeal morphology: clypeus lacking carinae, in lateral view rounded and strongly declivitous." The images of my specimens clearly show a lack of carinae on the clypeus, a trait only shared by S. enigmatica (and likely the unknown workers of the other three S. phoretica-group species). Additionally, the very sparse pilosity and 10-segmented antennae are also traits that are shared by S. enigmatica.


So far, what we can confirm is:

S. phoretica-group species are currently known to be host-specific; one species of Solenopsis has not yet been discovered alongside more than one host species.
The species I have located is S. phoretica-group.
The species I have located uses a host species that has so far been unknown to the group (P. tepicana).

What we can assume is that:

Because S. phoretica-group species are assumed to be host-specific, and the species I have found is using an unknown host, it is very likely that my species has been previously undiscovered.

 

The next steps will, of course, be to get this species officially documented and described. I am going to be sending the images to AntWeb shortly, so that they may be hosted in their database and displayed on their website. Specimens will be kept at ASU for the time being, and I will be looking within the research group there for a collaborator to assist in the process of getting these ants DNA barcoded and possibly described.

 

Finally, here's a short clip of when I first discovered these ants:

 

The man, the myth, the legend has found an ant species! Well done!

[Flu1d]

This is really one of the coolest things I have seen in a while, especially since I watched the vlog and was extremely excited during that entire part 😂

Well done!

[PurdueEntomology]

I would say that because of the complexity of Solenopsis groups the morphological variations may not be enough to discriminate between species, particularly in complexes. Also, host-specificity associations could be indicators of species discrimination, as you note these are "assumed" but not definitive.  I would hold out till a  nuclear DNA phylogeny is done, as we had to do with the Tapinoma helenae sp. nov. which we are  currently describing.  Though we had cumulative morphological, behavior and allochronic evidence, it was the nuclear DNA analysis that confirmed novelty.  Mitochondrial would not be sufficient, especially for a peer reviewed confirmation. I just say all this as I have had to go through much to definitively ascertain a new species that met criteria of critical examination.  Though I "knew" it must be novel, my knowing was not a proof.  Good luck though and keep us informed on this.  

Edited by PurdueEntomology, November 22 2022 - 2:24 PM.

[AntsCali098]

Congratulations! I watched your anting vlog on your channel. Really cool find!

[FinWins]

Awesome! It goes to show that there are still things to discover in this world that aren’t 5 miles under the sea! Good job!

[antsriondel]

Wow, awesome find!

[kellakk]

This is very cool! Love the photos as well. There's lots of cryptic groups in insects that hold new species, I hope you or someone else can follow up on this with some more thorough work on the S. phoretica group!

[ColAnt735]

Great find!

[Ant-nig321]

Good job!

[LowQualityAnts]

Excellent encounter!