Species: Strumigenys louisianae   Roger, 1863 

Current Valid Name:

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2023)

Distribution:

Distribution Notes:

Throughout tropical and subtropical America, from the southern United States to Argentina. In Costa Rica, known from Atlantic and Pacific lowlands, and the Meseta Central.

Biology:

Brown and Wilson (1959) summarize the genus as follows:

"Widespread in tropics and warm temperate areas. Primarily forest-dwelling; some species occur in grassland and arid scrub. ... Nests mostly in soil and rotting wood; a few species live in arboreal plant cavities in tropical rain forest. Foraging hypogaeic to epigaeic-arboreal. Food: most species are collembolan feeders; a few are polyphagous predators or occasionally feed on sugary substances..."

Members of the genus are all predaceous, with a kinetic mode of attack (Bolton 1999).

The feeding habits of louisianae have been studied by Wilson (1950, 1954) and Brown (1962). Workers take live prey, mostly small arthropods in litter and soil. Preferred prey are entomobryoid and symphypleonan Collembola; poduroid collembolans are not taken.

The species prefers synanthropic and/or seasonally dry habitats. It is more abundant in the peripheral parts of its range (Costa Rica northward, southern Brazil southward) than in the center (Panama southward to Amazonian Brazil) (Brown 1961).

References:

Bolton, B. 1999. Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 33:1639-1689.

Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini, with a revision of the Strumigenys species of the Malagasy Region by Brian L. Fisher, and a revision of the Austral epopostrumiform genera by Steven O. Shattuck. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65:1-1028.

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary studies of the ant tribe Dacetini. American Midland Naturalist 50:1-137.

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1961. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Miscellaneous concluding studies. Psyche 68:58-69.

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1962. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Synopsis and keys to the species. Psyche 69:238-267.

Brown, W. L., Jr., Wilson, E. O. 1959. The evolution of the dacetine ants. Quarterly Review of Biology 34:278-294.

Wilson, E. O. 1950. Notes on the food habits of Strumigenys louisianae Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 45: 85-86.

Wilson, E. O. 1954 ("1953"). The ecology of some North American dacetine ants. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 46:479-495.

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 35 times found in deciduous forest, 39 times found in upland hardwood forest, 29 times found in mixed forest, 22 times found in hardwood forest, 25 times found in bottomland hardwood forest, 23 times found in litter at base of Quercus sp., 16 times found in Black Belt Prairie, 18 times found in bottomland hardwood forest, litter from bamboo thicket, 14 times found in leaf litter, 14 times found in disturbed open pine/oak forest near headquarters, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 288 times litter, 43 times ex sifted leaf litter, 23 times leaf litter, 14 times litter and soil, 5 times foragers, 7 times soil and litter, 5 times Serrapilheira, 3 times ex sifted litter, 4 times sifting leaf litter, 1 times sifted leaf litter, 1 times near snake pond swamp, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 435 times Berlese funnel, 106 times general collecting, 31 times pitfall trap, 26 times Winkler, 23 times Lindgren funnel baited with Typosan and alpha pinene, 24 times Berlese, 23 times Lindgren funnel, 13 times MiniWinkler, 13 times search, 10 times MaxiWinkler, 10 times Lindgren funnel baited with Typosan, ...

Elevations: collected from 5 - 2600 meters, 353 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1891-12-31 00:00:00.0 and 2022-05-21 00:00:00.0

Type specimens: J.A.MacGown: mem88101; Lectotype of Strumigenys clasmospongia: antweb1032160; paralectotype of Strumigenys clasmospongia: antweb1038242; syntype of Strumigenys unidentata: casent0915694; syntype of Strumigenys bruchi: casent0904939, casent0909323; syntype of Strumigenys fusca: casent0904934; syntype of Strumigenys unispinulosa: casent0904935; syntype of Strumigenys unispinulosa longicornis: casent0905785; type of Strumigenys louisianae: focol2163, focol2164