Trichomyrmex destructor
Creators: name: Sharaf, Mostafa R.
name: Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S.
name: Mohamed, Amr A.
name: Fisher, Brian L.
name: Aldawood, Abdulrahman S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Trichomyrmex
Trichomyrmex destructor

description: <i>Trichomyrmex destructor</i> (Jerdon, 1851) (Fig. 24 A–C) <i>Atta destructor</i> Jerdon, 1851: 105 (w.) India. Indomalaya. <b> <i>Diagnosis.</i> Worker.</b> Posterior margin of head transversely striolate in dorsal view; promesonotum in profile nearly flat or weakly convex; propodeal dorsum in a continuous curve with propodeal declivity; transverse sculpture of propodeal dorsum fine and dense; pilosity of mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole, and gaster short and weakly curved. <i>Trichomyrmex destructor</i> is closest to <i>T. mayri</i>, from which it can be distinguished only by its bicolored body. Its head, mesosoma, petiole, and postpetiole are yellow to brown-yellow, and its gaster dark brown to black, whereas <i>T. mayri</i> is unicolorous dark brown or black-brown. <b> <i>Material examined</i>.</b> Qatar, Al Dhakira Park, 07.iii, 2005, 25°43’N, 51°32’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 4w; Doha, no locality, 17.iii.2005, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 8w, (KSMA). <b> <i>Geographic distribution</i>.</b> A species originally described from India, and is broadly spread in tropical and subtropical regions (Wetterer 2009). The species is originated in central Asia but has been distributed by human commerce to tropical and subtropical regions (Wetterer 2009) and extending to southern Europe (Ruzsky 1907) and North America. The species is known from most countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996), and the Socotra Archipelago (Collingwood <i>et al.</i> 2004, Sharaf <i>et al.</i> 2017). More information on species distribution is given by Wetterer (2009). <b> <i>Ecological and biological notes</i>.</b> This successful invasive species can invade a broad range of habitats including highly polluted sites (Wetterer 2009). In the KSA, this species builds nests in humid soil under stones in wild sites where <i>Acacia</i>, date palm, <i>Phoenix dactylifera</i> L. (Arecaceae), and <i>Calotropis procera</i> (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (Asclepiadaceae) trees exist (Sharaf <i>et al.</i> 2016).
description: Published as part of <i>Sharaf, Mostafa R., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Mohamed, Amr A., Fisher, Brian L. &amp; Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2020, A Preliminary Synopsis of the Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with Remarks on the Zoogeography, pp. 533-560 in Annales Zoologici 70 (4)</i> on page 552, DOI: 10.3161/00034541anz2020.70.4.005, http://zenodo.org/record/4433537
description: {"references": ["Jerdon, T. C. 1851. A catalogue of the species of ants found in Southern India. Madras Journal of Literature and Science, 17: 103 - 127.", "Wetterer, J. K. 2009. Worldwide spread of the ghost ant, Tapinoma melanocephalum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 12: 23 - 33.", "Collingwood, C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia, 7: 230 - 302.", "Collingwood, C. A. and Agosti, D. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2). Fauna of Arabia, 15: 300 - 385.", "Collingwood, C. A., Pohl, H., Guesten, R., Wranik, W., and A. van Harten. 2004. The ants (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago. Fauna of Arabia, 20: 473 - 495.", "Sharaf, M. R., Fisher, B. L., Collingwood, C. A. and S. A. Aldawood. 2017. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species. Journal of Natural History, 51: 317 - 378.", "Sharaf, M. R., Salman, S., Al Dhafer, H. M., Akbar, S. A., Abdel- Dayem, M. S. and A. S. Aldawood. 2016 b. Taxonomy and distribution of the genus Trichomyrmex Mayr, 1865 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula, with the description of two new species. European Journal of Taxonomy, 246: 1 - 36."]}