54,357 research outputs found
Formica dolosa Trager, MacGown & Trager, 2007, stat. nov.
No full textFormica dolosa Buren, 1944 stat. nov. Figures 1, 4 e, 5 e, 6 e Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi var. meridionalis Wheeler, W. M. 1904: 370 [Unavailable name.] Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi var. dolosa Wheeler, W. M. 1912: 90 [Unnecessary replacement name for meridionalis; also unavailable.] Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi: Wheeler, W. M. 1913 b: 552 (in part) [Misidentification.] Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi var. dolosa: Wheeler, W. M. 1913 b: 554 Formica (Neoformica) schaufussi subsp. dolosa Buren, 1944: 309. [First available use of dolosa.] Syntype workers, Bull Creek, Travis Co., Texas (W. M. Wheeler) (MCZ) [Examined. Three workers on one pin, labeled true types of dolosa by S. Cover, and two gynes on one pin labeled syntypes by S. Cover] Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi: Emery, 1893: 654 [Misidentification.] Formica schaufussi: Creighton, 1950: 551 [Misidentification.] Formica schaufussi subsp. dolosa: Creighton, 1950: 551 Formica schaufussi: Robson & Traniello, 1998: (in part) [Vouchers examined.] NOTE: We have selected a specimen in the Mayr collection (NMW) labeled Nord Amerika / Schaufuss as lectotype of Formica schaufussi Mayr, as this corresponds to the locality and collector information in Mayr s (1866) description. This sample clearly belongs to the much less pilose Formica pallidefulva. Thus, the name Formica schaufussi Mayr falls to the synonymy of Formica pallidefulva, below. DIAGNOSIS Worker The largest, most pilose, most densely pubescent and least shiny of reddishyellow members of the pallidefulva group (F. archboldi is duller, but always much darker and averages smaller). Weakly bicolored; head, mesosoma and legs light coppery red (south) to yellowish or reddish brown (north); gaster a little darker than head and mesosoma. Dorsal sclerites of mesosoma with abundant erect pilosity (Fig. 6 e); erect macrochaetae on gaster abundant and long (longest macrochaetae 0.16 - 0.30 mm), straight to slightly curved. Mesosoma, especially propodeal dorsum, pubescent; gaster dulled by long, dense, pale grayish, appressed microchaetae (Fig. 4 e). Gaster with small shallow foveolae in some samples, these nearly lacking in others. The propodeal crest is nearly always rounded in F. dolosa. The larger workers of this species are the largest eastern US Formica, matched within the genus only by the allopatric and otherwise quite different F. ravida Creighton. Queen Color, gastral pubescence, abundant pilosity and lack of shininess like the workers, with the usual differences in size. Sculpture a little more accented with notable fine tessellation of entire head, mesosoma and gastral dorsum; wings, when present, clear brownish to dark smoky gray. Three mesoscutal spots present as in F. incerta, but these pale and diffuse. Male Pubescence dense and pilosity abundant; surface sculpture punctate; head and gaster dark brown, mesosoma reddish brown to dark reddish brown with legs the same color; wings dark smoky gray. Larger than the nearly similar F. incerta, in which the mesosoma is normally about the same color as the head and gaster. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES The propodeal crest of F. dolosa is nearly always rounded in profile, and is typically sharp or even carinulate in the other species. This large, hairy, densely pubescent and faintly bicolored ant is most likely to be confused with F. biophilica. Compared to F. biophilica, F. dolosa has conspicuous appressed pubescence on the mesosoma, has more abundant, but slightly shorter gastral pilosity (longest macrochaetae up to 0.30 mm), has longer, denser pubescence on the gaster (compare Fig. 4 b and 4 e), and averages larger and heavier-bodied. The number of macrochaetae on the pronotum usually exceeds that on the propodeum of F. dolosa, (46 of 54 specimens) whereas the number on the propodeum more often exceeds that on the pronotum of F. biophilica (20 of 32 specimens). F. dolosa usually has relatively smaller eyes compared to F. biophilica (Table 1). In the field, F. dolosa occupies the drier end of the habitat spectrum, the two overlapping mainly in pine-oak woodlands of the Southeastern U. S., and in dry-mesic prairies further north. In the Northeastern U. S., larger, more pilose workers of F. incerta are often misidentified as F. dolosa, but F. dolosa averages larger and more pilose, has mesosomal pubescence and denser gastral pubescence, has longer scapes and legs; is generally lighter, more yellowish or reddish in color, and is more strictly associated with highly drained soils. ETYMOLOGY This name comes from the Latin adjective dolosus, meaning cunning or sly. Perhaps Wheeler was referring to the fleetness of its escape when alarmed, as this species is very shy and an excellent escape artist. RANGE AND HABITAT Widely distributed from New England across the Great Lakes region, west to Wisconsin and Iowa and south to northern Florida, the Gulf Coast states and Texas. Records of this ant in Colorado by Gregg are all misidentified F. incerta (L. Rericha, personal communication). F. dolosa is decidedly most abundant on acid-soil sites. These include a variety of droughty or well-drained habitats such as barrens, glades, prairies or open oak or pine woodlands on silicaceous or loessic soils. Though reported (as schaufussi) from plowed fields and pastures in the Northeast, F. dolosa is not usually common in such communities. J. Trager found F. dolosa in calcareous glades in Alabama and Missouri, but it is not abundant in these sites. In stark contrast to F. incerta and F. biophilica, F. dolosa does not nest in mesic habitats or in moist, fertile soils. SPECIMENS EXAMINED ALABAMA: Lawrence; ARKANSAS: Logan; FLORIDA: Alachua; Bay; Columbia; Escambia; Gilchrist; Jackson; Jefferson; Lake; Leon; Liberty; Okaloosa; Santa Rosa; Suwannee; Walton; GEORGIA: Clarke; Lumpkin; ILLINOIS: Mason; MARYLAND: Allegany; Dorchester; MASSACHUSETTS: Plymouth; Worchester MISSISSIPPI: Chickasaw; Choctaw; Lafayette; Lee; Lowndes; Noxubee; Oktibbeha; Pontotoc; Scott; Tishomingo; Winston; MISSOURI: Franklin; Johnson; Lincoln; Washington; NEW JERSEY: Ocean; NEW YORK: Nassau; Suffolk; NORTH CAROLINA: Nash OHIO: Adams; SOUTH CAROLINA: Aiken; Barnwell; McCormick; Oconee; TEXAS: Travis; WISCONSIN: Adams; Crawford; Dane; Grant; Iowa; Marshall; Sauk; Walworth; Waukesha. NATURAL HISTORY Nests may be hidden beneath a rock or piece of wood, but most nest entrances are at the base of a grass clump or other herbaceous plant. Some open onto bare ground, the entrance surrounded by a crater of excavated soil adorned with plant fragments, charcoal bits or fine gravel. J. MacGown collected F. dolosa in nests at the bases of large trees on relatively drier and more open ridges in mixed forests in northern Mississippi, and from an infrequently mowed area under loblolly pines near his house in Oktibbeha Co. Mississippi. The nest at the latter site was a low mound about 45 cm across and about 15 cm high at the midpoint. Part of the mound was inhabited by Camponotus castaneus Latreille. In the East and Gulf Coast United States, F. dolosa is host to the slavemaker Polyergus lucidus longicornis M. R. Smith. J. Trager's collection contains samples of this slavemaker with F. dolosa slaves from Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, South Carolina and Mississippi. In Missouri, F. dolosa is occasionally among the many hosts of F. pergandei, but we have only observed them in combination with other host species (see Natural History of F. biophilica for a case in point). In Florida, J. Trager observed F. dolosa and F. archboldi competing for domination of colonies of Toumeyella scales on long-leaf pine grass-stage seedlings. Occasionally, fights would arise in which the larger F. dolosa threw or chased F. archboldi workers to the ground. Winged sexuals were collected in nests in mid-June in Florida and Georgia, and one male was found in a nest in western Missouri in August. Both worker and sexual pupae are always enclosed in a cocoon.Published as part of Trager, J. C., MacGown, J. A. & Trager, M. D., 2007, Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group., pp. 610-636 in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80 on pages 619-62
Formica biophilica Trager, MacGown & Trager, 2007, new species
No full text<p>Formica biophilica James C. Trager new species</p> <p>Figures 4 b, 5 b, 6 b</p> <p>Formica pallidefulva: Creighton, 1950, in part [Misidentification]</p> <p>Formica schaufussi subsp. dolosa: Creighton, 1950, in part [Misidentification]</p> <p>TYPE DATA</p> <p>HL 1.43; HW 1.15; EL 0.42; SL 1.70; WL 2.34; PnW 0.95; PnM 6; PpM 14; TM 30</p> <p>Type specimen label: ALABAMA, Chilton Co., Interstate- 65 rest area 3 mi. E of Thorsby. 1 - X- 1983. M. B., J. R., B. R. DuBois. (JCT). Holotype and three paratypes on two pins. The holotype and one paratype will be deposited at MCZ and the other two specimens will be added to the excellent material of this species collected in Alabama and elsewhere by W. S. Creighton, now housed at LACM.</p> <p>DIAGNOSIS</p> <p>Worker Gracile, shiny, and the brightest yellow member of the group. Head, mesosoma and legs light reddish- to pale brownish yellow; head and mesosoma not at all or only a little lighter than gaster. Dorsal sclerites of mesosoma and especially the gaster with long, usually curved, erect macrochaetae. Number of macrochaetae on propodeum usually exceeds the number on the pronotum (20 of 32 specimens examined). Sheen of gaster readily visible through pubescence composed of pale, slender, grayish hairs of medium density (Fig. 4 b). Erect macrochaetae on gaster long, commonly 0.25 - 0.30 mm, tapering to a point and curved (Fig. 6 b).</p> <p>Queen Color, gastral pubescence and shininess like the workers, with the usual differences in size; with faint tessellation of upper portion of head, pronotum, sides of mesothorax, propodeum and gastral dorsum; wings, when present, clear to light brownish.</p> <p>Male Pubescence and pilosity abundant; mesosomal dorsum dull-punctate; head and gaster very dark brown, appearing black; mesosoma dusky yellowish brown, legs reddish brown; wings clear to light brownish. A little brighter in color, especially mesosoma, less pilose, pilosity also finer, and less pubescent than dolosa.</p> <p>DISTINGUISHING FEATURES</p> <p>F. biophilica and F. incerta are sympatric in the southern part of the latter's range. In the field, F. biophilica appears more brightly and uniformly reddish-yellow in color, and (if several workers of a colony are present) weakly polymorphic, whereas F. incerta is more brownish yellow, smaller overall, and usually (though not invariably) more monomorphic within colonies. Metrically, F. biophilica is more slender, has a proportionally longer mesosoma and narrower head than F. incerta (compare SI, TWI and CI values, Table 1). F. biophilica usually has more macrochaetae on the propodeum than on the pronotum (20 of 32 specimens), whereas F. incerta usually has more macrochaetae on the pronotum than on the propodeum (22 of 31 specimens).</p> <p>F. biophilica is also somewhat more brightly and uniformly colored, shinier and overall less hairy, and has a sharper petiolar crest in profile than F. dolosa. The F. biophilica specimens examined in this study also had a significantly higher CTI and OI (were more slender and had relatively larger eyes) than F. dolosa (Table 1). In the South, the less pilose minor workers and nanitics of F. biophilica are difficult to differentiate from F. pallidefulva. Often a rather squarer propodeal profile and more uniform bright reddish yellow color indicate F. biophilica. Additionally, on average the TWI of F. pallidefulva is larger than that of F. biophilica (Table 1). Ecologically, specimens from fens, bogs, swamps and fresh or salt marshes are most likely to be F. biophilica. In the northern part of the range of F. biophilica, its bright color will always distinguish it from the at least partially brown F. incerta and F. pallidefulva.</p> <p>ETYMOLOGY</p> <p>The name biophilica is given in allusion to E. O. Wilson's popularly inspirational coining biophilia, meaning the love of other species as a part of human nature. Specimens from Alabama, Dr. Wilson's home state, were chosen as the type series to further honor his contributions to myrmecology, conservation and behavioral biology.</p> <p>RANGE AND HABITAT</p> <p>Found in mesic to hydric open habitats, including fields, prairies, lawns, fens, bogs, marshes and open woodlands, from the Carolinas to Missouri, south to northern Florida and central Texas. Northward, its occurrence is more sporadic, especially in formerly glaciated regions, where F. biophilica shifts to drier (thus warmer) loess and sandy grassland locations. It reaches central Illinois in the Illinois River outwash sand prairies and reaches southeastern New York in the sandy plains along the East Coast and on Long Island. The habitat overlaps that of F. incerta in unglaciated prairies and eastern meadows, and overlaps that of F. dolosa in southern pine woodland and savanna. F. biophilica is absent from the most xeric and infertile sites occupied by F. dolosa. In the Ozarks and other southern U. S. hills, F. biophilica occurs in groundwater fens, bogs, marshes and flatwoods. This is the only southern Formica that occurs in these wetland habitats, where it nests in the elevated hummocks of organic matter formed by grass or sedge tussocks. It is less common than F. pallidefulva in human habitats, but occasionally shows up in lawns, parks and campuses, especially in parts of the South where fire ants are less abundant.</p> <p>SPECIMENS EXAMINED</p> <p>ARKANSAS: Logan; ALABAMA: Butler; Chilton; DeKalb; Lawrence; Mobile; Morgan; St. Clair; Tuscaloosa; DELAWARE: Sussex; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington; FLORIDA: Alachua; Columbia; Gadsden; Okaloosa; Polk; Walton; GEORGIA: Clarke; Habersham; Lumpkin; Rabun; ILLINOIS: Mason; LOUISIANA: Natchitoches; Tammany; Washington; MISSISSIPPI: Alcorn; Bolivar; Chickasaw; Lafayette; Lee; Monroe; Oktibbeha; Panola; Pontotoc; Tippah; MISSOURI: Franklin; Lincoln; Reynolds; Washington; NEW YORK: Rockland; SOUTH CAROLINA: Pickens; TENNESSEE: Davidson; Monroe; Sevier; TEXAS: Cass; Collin; Potter.</p> <p>NATURAL HISTORY</p> <p>Nests of F. biophilica have simple, cryptic openings in wetlands, grasslands or less often, in open woodlands. The entrance is usually hidden amongst grass or sedges. In springtime, colonies of F. biophilica may build a 10 - 25 cm diameter mound of soil and plant fragments nestled against a grass or sedge clump, this collapsing in disuse during the hot, dry weather of summer. In fens, bogs and wet meadows, when ground at the base is permanently or seasonally saturated, F. biophilica nests in the upper parts of graminoid tussocks. One colony under a strip of bark in unmowed grass in eastern Missouri contained four larvae of myrmecophilous staphylinid beetles, probably Xenodusa cava LeConte (but not collected for determination).</p> <p>This species has been found as host to the slavemaker Polyergus lucidus s. l. in Washington, D. C., northern Georgia and east-central Missouri. The variety of this slavemaker parasitizing F. biophilica has longer scapes and is somewhat less shiny and slightly more pubescent than typical P. lucidus lucidus Mayr, which parasitizes F. incerta. F. biophilica occurs among the many hosts of F. pergandei in the prairies of Missouri, but has only been observed in combination with other host species. At one site, a F. pergandei nest contained a melange of six slave species including (in order of decreasing relative abundance) F. pallidefulva, F subsericea Say, F. biophilica, F. dolosa, F. incerta and F. obscuriventris Mayr, certainly the most species-rich, naturally occurring ant colony on record!</p> <p>Sexuals have been collected in nests in Missouri, Texas and Georgia in mid-June to early July, but no flight or colony-founding activity has been recorded. There is one example of a queen-male bilateral gynandromorph in a Missouri collection. The worker pupae are always enclosed in a pale tan cocoon, and the sexuals in a larger, darker cocoon.</p>Published as part of <i>Trager, J. C., MacGown, J. A. & Trager, M. D., 2007, Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group., pp. 610-636 in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80</i> on pages 617-61
Formica incerta Trager, MacGown & Trager, 2007, stat. rev.
No full textFormica incerta Buren stat. rev., stat. nov. Figures. 4 c, 5 c, 6 c Formica pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi var. incerta Emery, 1893 [Unavailable name] Formica (Neoformica) pallidefulva subsp. schaufussi var. incerta: Wheeler, 1913 b Formica (Neoformica) pallidefulva subsp. incerta: Buren, 1944 [First available use of incerta] Syntype workers, District of Columbia, iv- 13 - 1886 (MCSN) [Examined. Five workers on three pins labeled paratypes by A. Francoeur] Formica (Neoformica) pallidefulva: Creighton, 1950, in part Formica (Neoformica) schaufussi: Creighton, 1950, in part Formica schaufussi: Robson & Traniello, 1998, in part [Vouchers examined] (JCT) DIAGNOSIS Worker A relatively shiny grassland Formica with a relatively broad head (mean CI = 86.77), sides of head more convex (Fig. 5 c) and scapes relatively short (mean SI = 132.99). Head and gaster rich, dark brown (northeast) to brownish-yellow with darker tip (prairie region). Mesosoma and legs yellowish-brown to light yellowish-brown. Mesosoma often a little lighter than head, and both lighter than gaster. Specimens in the Great Plains portion of the range are nearly concolorous brownish yellow except for the darker gastral apex. Mesosomal macrochaetae of F. incerta typically conspicuously shortest on propodeum. Erect pilosity on gaster relatively short, straight or only slightly curved, if curved, usually below the mid-point of the length of the macrochaetae. Gaster shiny, but its sheen dulled by faint tessellation and medium density pubescence (Fig. 4 c) composed of pale grayish appressed microchaetae Queen Color, gastral pubescence and shininess like the workers, with the usual differences in size. Color pattern differing from workers and from that of queens of all other species in that there are three distinct, dark spots on the mesoscutum, one anteromedian and two lateral over the parapsidal sulci. These may cover most of the mesoscutal area or may be reduced to longitudinal dark elliptical marks. Upper portion of head, pronotum, sides of mesothorax, propodeum and gastral dorsum with faint tessellation. Wings, when present, clear brownish to clear smoky gray. Male Pubescence and pilosity abundant; mesosomal dorsum dull-punctate; entire body uniform black or dull blackish brown, legs reddish brown; wings clear brownish to clear smoky gray. Averages smaller than the nearly similar F. dolosa and smaller and of more uniform blackish color than males of F. biophilica. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES Metrically, F. incerta is distinguished from the other species in the group by a relatively broad head and short scapes (CI and SI, Table 1). In the northeast part of its range, more pilose F. incerta individuals may be confused with F. dolosa, and F. incerta specimens with little pilosity may be confused with F. pallidefulva. The geographic range of F. pallidefulva completely overlaps that of F. incerta, and most places where they are found together in the field, F. incerta appears lighter in color and less shiny than F. pallidefulva, due to some faint tessellation on the mesosoma and somewhat longer, denser pubescence on the gastral dorsum of F. incerta. Mesosomal and gastral pilosity is usually much less abundant than in F. dolosa and averages slightly less abundant than in F. biophilica. Also, F. incerta is darker and shinier than sympatric F. dolosa. See F. biophilica account for the differences between F. incerta and that species. ETYMOLOGY This name was coined by Emery from the Latin adjective incertus meaning uncertain. This seems appropriate to describe Emery's own and subsequent authors doubts regarding the validity of this species. RANGE AND HABITAT This species occurs from New England and the Great Lakes States west to Minnesota, Nebraska and low elevation grasslands of Colorado (and New Mexico?). It extends south in eastern US to the balds, meadows and old fields of the southern Appalachians. F. incerta is especially abundant in native mesic and dry-mesic grasslands, but also occurs in parks, campuses and lawns, fields and forest clear-cuts. In the Northeast, it occurs in heathland and sand barrens, and in the Midwest it is characteristic and abundant in prairie remnants, botanically diverse old fields and meadows, and native prairie reconstructions. SPECIMENS EXAMINED (CANADA) ONTARIO: Lambton. (UNITED STATES) CONNECTICUT: Litchfield; DELAWARE: Kent; DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington; ILLINOIS: DuPage; Madison; IOWA: Dubuque; Johnson; Winneshiek; KENTUCKY: Laurel; MAINE: Androscoggan; Cumberland; Kennebeck; MARYLAND: Allegany; Baltimore; MASSACHUSETTS: Essex; Worchester; MICHIGAN: Livingston; MINNESOTA: Crow Wing; MISSOURI: Audrain; Boone; Callaway; Franklin; Harrison; Jasper; Madison; St. Louis; NEBRASKA: Hall; NEW JERSEY: Burlington; Essex; Gloucester; Salem; NEW YORK: Rockland; Suffolk; NORTH CAROLINA: Cocke; Haywood; OHIO: Adams; Butler; Champaign; Delaware; Hamilton; Hocking; Jackson; Montgomery; PENNSYLVANIA: Chester; Delaware; VIRGINIA: Farifax; Rapahannock; Washington; WISCONSIN: Crawford; Washburn; Waushara. NATURAL HISTORY Nests are in bare soil, or beneath a grass clump, in the latter case often with a small, irregular, conical (5 - 15 cm wide, 10 - 20 cm tall) mound of soil and plant fragments. This is often the first Formica species to become abundant on restored native grasslands,Conservation Reserve Program grassland plantings on former farmland and cut-over forests. A healthy population of F. incerta may facilitate colonization by its parasites F. difficilis and F. pergandei, if these occur nearby. It is less abundant than F. pallidefulva in lawns, campuses and parks. This is often the most abundant Formica species in mesic tallgrass prairies from central Illinois, Nebraska and south to Oklahoma and northeast Arkansas, and also in balds, meadows and old fields at higher elevations of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Sweepnet samples from all these types of habitats rarely fail to include F. incerta, and thus insect collections housed at institutions near them may be rife with samples of individuals so captured. In the Great Lakes Region and New England, this species is more associated with sandy soils and pastureland and often nests under rocks. In the northern glaciated prairie region, F. incerta can be a dominant ant in sand prairies, but is largely displaced from sites with moister, finer-textured soils, which are dominated by aggressive, mound-building Formica species. F. incerta appears to be the only host of Polyergus lucidus lucidus collections examined from New England states, New Jersey, southern Ontario, Wisconsin and Missouri. F. incerta is also frequent among the many hosts of F. pergandei and in western Missouri prairies commonly occurs as a slave of this species, either alone or in mixed populations with F. subsericea. F. incerta appears to be the primary host of alloparasitic (dispersing) queens of F. difficilis Emery, the queen of which bears a superficial resemblance to F. incerta workers. Indeed, Wheeler (1904) first used the term temporary social parasitism to describe the relationship he elucidated between F. difficilis (as var. consocians) and F. incerta in Connecticut. This ant often visits extrafloral nectaries of sunflowers, partridge peas and other prairie plants. It also tends aphids and membracids on a variety of plants. F. incerta workers defend these sugar sources from non-nest mates of their own species, from other, smaller ant species and from some parasitoids. However, in areas where there are greater numbers of aggressive mound-building prairie Formica species (e. g. F. montana Wheeler, F. obscuripes Forel), F. incerta becomes more furtive and opportunistic in its honeydew gathering, as described below for F. pallidefulva. Foraging strategy and recruitment to food sources has been well studied in F. incerta (and incidentally, in F. dolosa) by Robson & Traniello (1998, and included references to their earlier work). These authors identified their study subject as F. schaufussi in the articles, but vouchers sent by Robson were examined for this revision. These were mostly F. incerta, but also included a sample of F. dolosa. In grasslands, especially those recently burned, northern flickers (Colaptes auratus) prey heavily on Formica species, including F. incerta. This is especially so on sunny, late winter days when workers migrate intranidally toward the surface, seeking warmth. Alates occur in the nests in July and August in New England and the northern prairies, and a few weeks earlier in the unglaciated prairie region and southern Appalachians. It is worth noting that the maturation of alates of F. pallidefulva may precede that of F. incerta in by two or three weeks, suggesting a possible temporal mechanism for reproductive isolation. Flights have not been observed, but several mated queens have been captured walking about in mid to late morning in Missouri. In the lab, these recently mated queens are nervous in captivity and often fail to rear their first workers, in contrast to the ready adaptability to captive conditions of F. pallidefulva queens. Worker pupae are typically enclosed in a light tan cocoon and sexual pupae have darker tan cocoons. This is in contrast to the frequently naked worker pupae of F. pallidefulva, as was earlier noted by both Wheeler (1904) and Talbot (1948).Published as part of Trager, J. C., MacGown, J. A. & Trager, M. D., 2007, Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group., pp. 610-636 in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80 on pages 621-62
Ideals of curves given by points
No full textLet C be an irreducible projective curve of degree d in
P^n(K), where K is an algebraically closed field, and let I be the associated homogeneous prime ideal. We wish to compute generators for I, assuming we are given sufficiently many points on the curve C. In particular if I can be generated by polynomials of degree at most m and we are given md + 1 points on C, then we can find a set of generators for I. We will show that a minimal set of generators of I can be constructed in polynomial time. Our constructions are completely independent of any notion of term ordering; this allows us the maximal freedom in performing our constructions in order to improve the numerical stability. We also summarize some classical results on bounds for the degrees of the generators of our ideal in terms of the degree and genus of the curve
Formica archboldi M. R. Smith
No full text<p>Formica archboldi M. R. Smith, 1944</p> <p>Figures 4 d, 5 d, 6 d</p> <p>Formica pallidefulva subsp. archboldi Smith, M. R., 1944: 16. [Examined. Syntype workers] four workers on two pins, labeled, Florida: Archbold Biological Station, 10 miles south Lake Placid, Fla. X- 7 - 43 T. C. Schneirla. Paratype No. 56765 U. S. N. M. (MCZ).</p> <p>Formica (Neoformica) archboldi Creighton, 1950: 549. Raised to species.</p> <p>DIAGNOSIS</p> <p>Worker The most evidently sculptured and the smallest member of the group, characteristic of Florida's upland pine and scrub habitats. F. archboldi has the largest eyes relative to head size of all species in this group (see OI, Table 1). Head and gaster very dark reddish brown, appearing blackish or dark gray-brown in the field; mesosoma often a little lighter than head, and sometimes both lighter than gaster. Gastral dorsum at most weakly shining, sheen dulled by numerous, shallow impressions (foveolae) and appressed pubescence composed of moderately dense grayish appressed microchaetae (Fig. 4 d). Dorsal sclerites of mesosoma and gaster usually with moderately abundant, short, erect, brownish-gray erect macrochaetae, and pale grayish appressed microchaetae. Erect macrochaetae on mesosoma and usually on gaster are relatively short, straight and flattened with rounded, blunt or abruptly tapering tips; less often, at least some of those on gaster a bit longer and slightly curved, these less flattened and tapering.</p> <p>Queen Color, gastral pubescence and sculpture like the workers, with the usual differences in size. There is tessellation on the upper portion of head, pronotum, sides of mesothorax, propodeum and gastral dorsum; wings, when present, clear brownish to clear smoky gray. Pilosity longer and more flexuous than that of worker.</p> <p>Male Pubescence and pilosity abundant; mesosomal dorsum dull-punctate; entire body black, legs reddish brown or mesosoma lighter, dusky yellowish brown; wings clear brownish to clear smoky gray; pilosity like that of queen; gastral pubescence pale brownish yellow and very dense. Averages smaller than the otherwise difficult-to-distinguish males of F. dolosa and F. biophilica.</p> <p>DISTINGUISHING FEATURES</p> <p>Although a sample of this species in the Mayr collection is placed among his schaufussi (anything in the group which was not typical F. pallidefulva is so placed in that collection), this dark brown to nearly black species has rarely been misidentified since its description in 1944 and is unlikely to be confused with any congener in the field. Mounted specimens that are shinier and less pilose than normal, or mislabeled ones (like those from Virginia in the Mayr collection), might be confused with darker color variants of F. incerta or F. pallidefulva without careful inspection. Occasionally other species, especially F. biophilica, may stain black when mounted on pins, which could lead to confusion with F. archboldi.</p> <p>ETYMOLOGY</p> <p>This species is named after Richard Archbold, founder of Archbold Biological Station, Lake Placid, Florida, the type locality.</p> <p>RANGE AND HABITAT</p> <p>Originally described from Archbold Biological Station in Highlands Co., Florida, this species in fact appears to be more abundant in northern Florida. It is a characteristic ant of the uplands of peninsular Florida and the eastern panhandle, and also recorded by D. R. Smith (1979) as occurring in Georgia and Alabama. One collection in the Mayr collection labeled Virginia is doubtless mislabeled. This ant is characteristic in relatively undisturbed, long-leaf pine sandhills and in scrub or sand pine woodland. Less often it may be found in the transition between these more open sandy habitats and drier portions of flatwoods, or southern live oak woodlands. In northern Florida, F. archboldi coexists with F. dolosa and F. pallidefulva in sandhill vegetation, but to the south on the Lake Wales Ridge (including the type locality), this ant becomes more typical of moist soil among pond-edge vegetation in swales within the white sand scrub vegetation, and is largely replaced in sandhill woodland by F. pallidefulva. It is also reported from sandhill locations along the South Florida coasts, but probably is lacking from the Everglades.</p> <p>SPECIMENS EXAMINED</p> <p>FLORIDA: Alachua; Baker; Citrus; Collier; Duval; Hernando; Highlands; Hillsborough; Jackson; Leon; Levy; Liberty; Marion; Okochobee; Pasco; Putnam; Sumter; Suwannee; Volusia; Wakulla.</p> <p>D. R. Smith (1979) reports F. archboldi from ALABAMA: no county listed. GEORGIA: no county listed.</p> <p>NATURAL HISTORY</p> <p>Within the pallidefulva group, this species is the most sensitive to human development and habitat alteration. During eight years of residence in Gainesville FL, J. Trager watched this species slowly disappear from sandhill woodland habitats near new housing developments, even when efforts were made to protect the native vegetation in green space around the houses. On the other hand, at Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park during the same years, ecological restoration efforts consisting of selective species removal (cutting down mesic-adapted trees) and introduction of prescribed fire to maintain the open vegetation structure, resulted in a resurgence of F. archboldi (and incidentally, F. dolosa) in the upland habitats of the site. A healthy population of F. archboldi could be considered an indicator of high natural area integrity, or at least a low level of habitat degradation, in Florida's pine and pine-oak woodlands.</p> <p>Nests are usually located beneath wiregrass clumps (or beneath beard grass or sedges in scrub habitats), and occur less frequently in bare soil, at the base of a shrub or under oak-leaf litter. The entrance is often marked with a small accumulation of plant fragments and / or grasshopper dung. Returning foragers watched for ½ - hour intervals in the afternoon foraging period typically brought in more of these plant fragments and dung pellets than they did prey items (J. Trager, unpublished). Worker pupae are typically enclosed in a light tan cocoon, sexual pupae in a darker, thicker cocoon. This species is the host of the small, dull variant of Polyergus lucidus that uses F. archboldi as its host in Florida (Trager & Johnson, 1985). F. archboldi lives outside the range of dulotic or other parasitic Formica species.</p> <p>The cricket Myrmecophila pergandei Bruner commonly inhabits the nests of F. archboldi. Outside the nest, F. archboldi gathers honeydew from living plant surfaces and from leaf litter, and also actively tends and defends Cinara aphids and Toumeyella scales on grass-stage longleaf pine saplings. The defense by F. archboldi as they tended scales was used to induce workers to attack a termite offered on the end of a pine needle, then following the light-bodied prey as a marker to follow as the worker returned to its nest. In two cases, this resulted in the discovery of a colony of the Polyergus lucidus variety mentioned above.</p> <p>Foraging occurs mainly between 8 a. m. and noon and between 4 p. m. and dusk, from March through October. However, hemipteran colonies are tended around the clock. Peak foraging activity occurs from April through June. Returning foragers carry a variety of freshly killed insects into the nest. Most of these prey items are herbivorous insects, but also among them are occasional individuals of Odontomachus brunneus Patton. Just how it is that this smaller and less ferociously built Formica captures and kills this well-armed ponerine has not been observed. Trager & Johnson (1985) report on habits of F. archboldi.</p> <p>Sexuals occur in the nests from late April through June. The alates are not attracted to lights. They apparently fly in early morning, around sunrise. Females must quickly dealate and sequester themselves, as it appears no one has ever found either a newly mated female or incipient colony of this locally abundant ant.</p>Published as part of <i>Trager, J. C., MacGown, J. A. & Trager, M. D., 2007, Revision of the Nearctic endemic Formica pallidefulva group., pp. 610-636 in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80</i> on pages 614-61
1ST MEASUREMENT OF GAMMA(D(S)(+)-]MU+NU)/GAMMA(D(S)(+)-]PHI-PI+)
No full textComplete Author List:
ACOSTA D, ATHANAS M, MASEK G, PAAR H, BEAN A, GRONBERG J, KUTSCHKE R, MENARY S, MORRISON RJ, NAKANISHI S, NELSON HN, NELSON TK, RICHMAN JD, RYD A, TAJIMA H, SCHMIDT D, SPERKA D, WITHERELL MS, PROCARIO M, YANG S, BALEST R, CHO K, DAOUDI M, FORD WT, JOHNSON DR, LINGEL K, LOHNER M, RANKIN P, SMITH JG, ALEXANDER JP, BEBEK C, BERKELMAN K, BESSON D, BROWDER TE, CASSEL DG, CHO HA, COFFMAN DM, DRELL PS, EHRLICH R, GALIK RS, GARCIASCIVERES M, GEISER B, GITTELMAN B, GRAY SW, HARTILL DL, HELTSLEY BK, JONES CD, JONES SL, KANDASWAMY J, KATAYAMA N, KIM PC, KREINICK DL, LUDWIG GS, MASUI J, MEVISSEN J, MISTRY NB, NG CR, NORDBERG E, OGG M, PATTERSON JR, PETERSON D, RILEY D, SALMAN S, SAPPER M, WORDEN H, WURTHWEIN F, AVERY P, FREYBERGER A, RODRIGUEZ J, STEPHENS R, YELTON J, CINABRO D, HENDERSON S, KINOSHITA K, LIU T, SAULNIER M, SHEN F, WILSON R, YAMAMOTO H, ONG B, SELEN M, SADOFF AJ, AMMAR R, BALL S, BARINGER P, COPPAGE D, COPTY N, DAVIS R, HANCOCK N, KELLY M, KWAK N, LAM H, KUBOTA Y, LATTERY M, NELSON JK, PATTON S, PERTICONE D, POLING R, SAVINOV V, SCHRENK S, WANG R, ALAM MS, KIM IJ, NEMATI B, ONEILL JJ, SEVERINI H, SUN CR, ZOELLER MM, CRAWFORD G, DAUBENMIER CM, FULTON R, FUJINO D, GAN KK, HONSCHEID K, KAGAN H, KASS R, LEE J, MALCHOW R, MORROW F, SKOVPEN Y, SUNG M, WHITE C, WHITMORE J, WILSON P, BUTLER F, FU X, KALBFLEISCH G, LAMBRECHT M, ROSS WR, SKUBIC P, SNOW J, WANG PL, WOOD M, BORTOLETTO D, BROWN DN, FAST J, MCILWAIN RL, MIAO T, MILLER DH, MODESITT M, SCHAFFNER SF, SHIBATA EI, SHIPSEY IPJ, WANG PN, BATTLE M, ERNST J, KROHA H, ROBERTS S, SPARKS K, THORNDIKE EH, WANG CH, DOMINICK J, SANGHERA S, SHELKOV V, SKWARNICKI T, STROYNOWSKI R, VOLOBOUEV I, ZADOROZHNY P, ARTUSO M, HE D, GOLDBERG M, HORWITZ N, KENNETT R, MONETI GC, MUHEIM F, MUKHIN Y, PLAYFER S, ROZEN Y, STONE S, THULASIDAS M, VASSEUR G, ZHU G, BARTELT J, CSORNA SE, EGYED Z, JAIN V, SHELDON P, AKERIB DS, BARISH B, CHADHA M, CHAN S, COWEN DF, EIGEN G, MILLER JS, OGRADY C, URHEIM J, WEINSTEIN A
The Resolved Stellar Populations of M 32
No full textWe present the deepest optical CMD to date of M 32, obtained from HST ACS/HRC images. The dominant feature is the RC, whose CMD location suggests a, mean age between 8 and 10 Gyr for [Fe/H] = -0.2 in M 32. We detect for the first time the RGB and AGB bumps in M 32 which constrain its mean age to be 5-10 Gyr old at 2' from the center. Bright AGB stars indicate the presence of intermediate-age populations. A detected blue component of stars may indicate for the first time the presence of a young stellar population of Gyr in our M 32 field. However, it is likely that the younger stars of this blue plume belong to M 31 rather than to M 32. The fainter stars populating the blue plume indicate the presence of stars not younger than 1 Gyr and/or blue straggler stars in M 32.</p
A statistical analysis of circumstellar material in Type Ia supernovae
No full textA key tracer of the elusive progenitor systems of Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) is the detection of narrow blueshifted time-varying Na I D absorption lines, interpreted as evidence of circumstellar material surrounding the progenitor system. The origin of this material is controversial, but the simplest explanation is that it results from previous mass-loss in a system containing a white dwarf and a non-degenerate companion star. We present new single-epoch intermediate-resolution spectra of 17 low-redshift SNe Ia taken with XShooter on the European Southern Observatory Very Large Telescope. Combining this sample with events from the literature, we confirm an excess (∼20 per cent) of SNe Ia displaying blueshifted narrow Na I D absorption features compared to redshifted Na I D features. The host galaxies of SNe Ia displaying blueshifted absorption profiles are skewed towards later-type galaxies, compared to SNe Ia that show no Na I D absorption and SNe Ia displaying blueshifted narrow Na I D absorption features have broader light curves. The strength of the Na I D absorption is stronger in SNe Ia displaying blueshifted Na I D absorption features than those without blueshifted features, and the strength of the blueshifted Na I D is correlated with the B − V colour of the SN at maximum light. This strongly suggests the absorbing material is local to the SN. In the context of the progenitor systems of SNe Ia, we discuss the significance of these findings and other recent observational evidence on the nature of SN Ia progenitors. We present a summary that suggests that there are at least two distinct populations of normal, cosmologically useful SNe Ia
A 2 h periodic variation in the low-mass X-ray binary Ser X-1
No full textSpectroscopy of the low-mass X-ray binary Ser X-1 using the Gran Telescopio Canarias have revealed a ?2 h periodic variability that is present in the three strongest emission lines. We tentatively interpret this variability as due to orbital motion, making it the first indication of the orbital period of Ser X-1. Together with the fact that the emission lines are remarkably narrow, but still resolved, we show that a main-sequence K dwarf together with a canonical 1.4 M? neutron star gives a good description of the system. In this scenario, the most likely place for the emission lines to arise is the accretion disc, instead of a localized region in the binary (such as the irradiated surface or the stream-impact point), and their narrowness is due instead to the low inclination (?10°) of Ser X-1
Nuevo ensayo de glotocronología yutonahua.. Anales del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Num. 44 Tomo XV (1962) Sexta Época (1939-1966)
No full textHale, K. Internal Diversity in Uto-Aztecan IJAL 24:101-7, 25:114-21, 1958-59.Hale, K. Jemez and Kiowa Correspondences in Reference to Kiowa-tanoan, IJAL 28:1-8, 1962.Hymes, D. H. Lexicostatistics So Far, Current Anthropology 1:3-44, 1960.Miller, W. R. A Note on Kiowa Linguistic Affiliations, American Anthropologist, 61:102-5, 1959.Sapir, E. Southern Paiute and Nahuatl, Journal de la Société des Américanistes de Paris, 10:379-425, 11:143-88, 1913, 1919.Swadesh, M. Glotocronología del Yutoazteca, presentado a la Mesa Redonda de Jalapa, inédito. 1953.Swadesh, M. Algunas Fechas Glotocronológicas importantes para la Prehistoria Nahua, Revista Mexicana de Estudios Antropológicos, 14:173-92, 1955.Swadesh, M. Estudios sobre Lengua y Cultura. México, 1960.Trager, G. L., y Trager, E. C. Kiowa and Tanoan, American Anthropologist, 61:1078-83, 1959.Voegelin, C. F., Voegelin, F. M., y Hale, K. L. Typological and Comparative Grammar of Uto-Aztecan, IJAL 28, suplemento, 1962.Whorf, B. L. The Comparative Linguistics of Uto-Aztecan, American Anthropologist, 37:600-8, 1935.Whorf, B. L., y Trager, G. L. The Relationship of Uto-Aztecan and Tanoan, American Anthropologist, 39:609-24, 1937
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