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First description of the queen of the ant
Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood
(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Saudi
Arabia
Mostafa R. Sharafa, Shehzad Salmana & Abdulrahman S. Aldawooda
a Economic Entomology Research Unit, Plant Protection
Department, College of Food and Agriculture Science, King Saud
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Published online: 14 Nov 2014.
To cite this article: Mostafa R. Sharaf, Shehzad Salman & Abdulrahman S. Aldawood (2014):
First description of the queen of the ant Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood (Hymenoptera:
Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia, Zoology in the Middle East, DOI: 10.1080/09397140.2014.985872
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2014.985872
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Zoology in the Middle East, 2014
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09397140.2014.985872
*Corresponding author. Email: antsharaf@gmail.com
© 2014 Taylor & Francis
First description of the queen of the ant Solenopsis saudiensis
Sharaf & Aldawood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia
Mostafa R. Sharaf*, Shehzad Salman and Abdulrahman S. Aldawood
Economic Entomology Research Unit, Plant Protection Department,
College of Food and Agriculture Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
(Received 6 October 2014; accepted 30 October 2014)
The queen of the ant Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011 is described
for the first time from Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A provisional key to the
two Saudi Arabian species of the genus is presented based on the queen caste. Brief
ecological and biological notes are also given.
Keywords: Arabian Peninsula, Middle East, Palaearctic, date palm, taxonomy, ants.
Introduction
Solenopsis Westwood, 1840 is one of the largest ant genera in the subfamily Myrmicine
including 193 species (Bolton, 2013), distributed worldwide in the tropics and warm
temperate regions (Brown, 2000; Pacheco & Mackay, 2013). Workers of the genus
Solenopsis can be recognised by the characters mentioned by Ettershank (1966), Bolton
(1994), Sharaf, Taylor, and Klingenberg (2009) and Sharaf and Aldawood (2012). The
queen caste can be identified by the following characteristics as presented by Ettershank
(1966) and Bolton (1994): Larger than the conspecific worker; usually, one more anten-
nomere than workers, antennae often 11-segmented, sometimes 10-segmented, always
with a 2-segmented club; propodeum strongly rounded; petiolar node broader than in
the worker; and postpetiole broadly attached to the gaster.
The first contribution on the Arabian Solenopsis was published by Collingwood and
Agosti (1996) describing three new species, S. omana from Oman, and S. sumara and S.
zingibara from Yemen. A year later, S. geminata (Fabricius, 1804) was reported from
the UAE (Collingwood, Tigar, & Agosti, 1997). The genus was recorded for the first
time from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the species S. saudiensis Sharaf & Alda-
wood from Riyadh region based on the worker caste (Sharaf & Aldawood. 2011). Re-
cently, the genus was revised for the Arabian Peninsula by Sharaf & Aldawood (2012)
recognizing six species, S. elhawagryi Sharaf & Aldawood, S. geminata (Fabricius), S.
omana Collingwood & Agosti, S. saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, S. sumara Colling-
wood & Agosti and S. zingibara Collingwood & Agosti. Solenopsis elhawagryi was
described from southwestern mountains of Saudi Arabia based on worker and queen
castes (Sharaf & Aldawood, 2012). These authors presented a key to the Arabian spe-
cies supported by automontage photographs and Scanning Electron Micrographs and
redescribed the worker caste of S. sumara. Since then, additional specimens of S. sau-
diensis, including two dealated queens in association with several workers, have been
collected by the second author (S.S.) from the King Saud University campus in Riyadh.
Herein, we describe the queen caste of S. saudiensis and give a provisional key to the
queens of both Saudi Arabian species.
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2 M. R. Sharaf
Measurements and Indices
Measurements [in mm] and indices follow the standards by Bolton (1987): TL = Total Length;
the outstretched length of the ant from the mandibular apex to the metasomal apex. – HW = Head
Width; the maximum width of the head behind eyes in full face view. – HL = Head Length; the
maximum length of the head, excluding the mandibles. – CI = Cephalic Index (HW x 100/HL). –
SL = Scape Length, excluding basal neck. – SI = Scape Index (SL x 100/HW). – EL = Eye
Length; the maximum diameter of the eye. – ML = Mesosoma Length; the length of the mesoso-
ma in lateral view, from the point at which the pronotum meets the cervical shield to the posterior
base of the propodeal lobes or teeth. – PL = Petiole Length; the maximum length measured in
dorsal view, from the anterior margin to the posterior margin. – PW = Petiole Width; maximum
width measured in dorsal view. – PPL = Postpetiole Length; maximum length measured in dorsal
view. – PPW = Postpetiole Width; maximum width measured in dorsal view.
Results
Solenopsis saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011 (Figures 1–3)
Material: SAUDI ARABIA: 2 dealated queens, Riyadh, King Saud University campus,
24°42.832’N, 46°37.534’E, 660 m.a.s.l,. 04.iv.2014 (S. Salman leg.); Deposited in the
King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), College of Food and Agricul-
ture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Measurements (Queen): TL 3.32-3.57; HL 0.53-0.55; HW 0.46-0.50; SL 0.33-0.35; EL
0.12-0.17; ML 1.00-1.07; PL0.22- 0.25; PW 0.20-0.22; PPL 0.17-0.18; PPW 0.25-0.27;
Indices: SI 70-72; CI 87-91 (n=2).
Description: Colour uniformly dark brown, antennae, mandibles and legs clear yellow. –
Head: slightly longer than broad with feebly convex sides and weakly concave posterior
margin; scapes and funiculus with subdecumbent pubescence; masticatory margin of
mandibles armed with four teeth decrease gradually in size from apex to base; median
anterior clypeal margin concave; eyes large (EL 0.24-0.36x HW), with about 18 omma-
tidia in the longest row. – Mesosoma: robust, in dorsal view elongate and clearly bilat-
erally compressed; propodeal spiracle circular; propodeal dorsum about twice longer
than propodeal declivity in profile. Petiole with a relatively long peduncle; and petiolar
dorsum in profile short with a long curved anterior margin and straight vertical posterior
margin. Postpetiole in profile, slightly lower than petiole; postpetiole in dorsal view
slightly broader than petiole. – Sculpture: cephalic dorsum shiny and smooth apart from
distinct hair pits; area between antennal insertions faintly longitudinally striated; meso-
somal dorsum superficially sculptured slightly shining; mesosomal sides smooth and
shining; propodeal dorsum very faintly transversally striated; petiole and postpetiole
superficially sculptured and dull; gaster superficially granulate and slightly shining. –
Pilosity: cephalic dorsum with abundant long yellow hairs; eyes with numerous project-
ing yellow hairs among ommatidia; mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole and gaster with
abundant, suberect, long yellow hairs.
Ecological notes: Two queens and several workers were found nesting in soil at the base
of a date palm tree (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Riyadh. Specimens were collected by
sifting the soil which was a mixture of sandy loam with much decaying organic materi-
als. Thick thatch surrounded the tree trunk. This area is a part of gardens of the King
Saud University campus, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and is regularly irrigated so the soil
is relatively moist. Several workers were observed foraging in the area up to approxi-
mately a metre from the nest. Collections of S. saudiensis strongly indicate that this
species is associated with irrigated date palm orchards in the central desert region of
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Zoology in the Middle East 3
Figures 1–2. Queen of Sharaf & Aldawood in profile and dorsal view (antweb.org,
CASENT0914333, Photographer: Michele Esposito).
Saudi Arabia, whereas S. elhawagryi seems to be associated with wild Acacia forests of
the southwestern mountainous region of the country (Sharaf & Aldawood, 2012)..
Distribution: Since the description of S. saudiensis, the authors have made extensive
collecting efforts to understand the species distribution. As a result, S. saudiensis is now
recorded from additional sites in the Riyadh region and the data of these individuals are
as follow: Riyadh, Rawdhat Khorim (25°38.434’N, 47°27.866’E), 559 m, 13.i.2014 (2);
Riyadh, Alhayer (24°33.465’N, 46°44.469’E), 587m, 9.x.2013 (2); Riyadh, Alhayer
(24°33.465’N, 46° 44.469’E), 587m, 10.x.2013 (3).
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4 M. R. Sharaf
Figure 3. Queen of Sharaf & Aldawood in profile, head in full-face view (antweb.org,
CASENT0914333, Photographer: Michele Esposito).
Distinguishing features of the queens of Solenopsis saudiensis and S. elhawagryi
– Smaller species, TL 3.32-3.57; HL 0.53-0.55; HW 0.46-0.50; SL 0.33-
0.35; ML 1.00-1.07; PPL 0.17-0.18; eyes with about 18 ommatidia in
the longest row; postpetiole without a small tooth-like process; pro-
podeal dorsum about twice longer than propodeal declivity in profile;
mesosoma in dorsal view elongate and clearly bilaterally compressed;
mesosomal dorsum and gaster superficially sculptured, slightly shining;
and petiole and postpetiole superficially sculptured and dull (Figures
1–3) .......................................................................... saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood
– Larger species, TL 4.30; HL 0.75; HW 0.65; SL 0.47; ML 1.40; PPL
0.25; eyes with more than 25 ommatidia in the longest row; postpetiole
with a small distinct anteroventral tooth-like process which bears sever-
al long hairs; propodeal dorsum as long as propodeal declivity in pro-
file; mesosoma in dorsal view robust, broad and not bilaterally com-
pressed; and entire body smooth and shining ........ elhawagryi Sharaf & Aldawood
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Zoology in the Middle East 5
Acknowledgements and Funding
This project was supported by the NSTIP Strategic program [grant number 11-BIO1974-02],
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The authors are indebted to Boris Kondratieff (Colorado State Univer-
sity) for critical reading of the manuscript.
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