A taxonomic review of the genus Myrmelachista (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Costa Rica.
Author
Longino, J. T.
text
Zootaxa
2006
1141
1
54
http://antbase.org/ants/publications/21030/21030.pdf
journal article
21030
323B9B2C-F6AE-40B5-982B-4BBEA5317786
[[ Genus
Myrmelachista
]]
The above are a set of species described together by Wheeler from material collected by Elisabeth Skwarra in southern Mexico. They are all very similar to
plebecula
and
joycei
. I cannot distinguish workers of
amicta
,
skwarrae
(and its two subspecies
picea
and
laeta
), and
plebecula
. The males of
skwarrae
and
plebecula
are distinct. The male of
skwarrae
differs from
plebecula
in having a basiparamere lobe and distinct (though minute) setose pygostyles.
Myrmelachista skwarrae
males are more like
joycei
. They differ from
joycei
in the relatively thinner and more delicate basiparamere lobe and relatively larger ocelli.
If the Mexican forms prove to be geographic variants of
plebecula
, the latter has priority. On the other hand,
M. joycei
could prove to be a geographic variant of one of the previously named Mexican forms.