Forum Entomologi Italiani

mm 5-5.5
raccolto non intenzionalmente... penso sia un formicidae, ma ricorda anche un bethylidae

Gyne (queen) of Tetramorium sp.

Se, come sembra (ma puoi controllare meglio tu stesso), la chitina dello scuto è liscia e non con sottili rughe longitudinali (in maniera simile alla chitina della testa che si vede in foto), siamo evidentemente nel gruppo caespitum.

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Vade ad formicam...

Vincenzo, in some species of T. caespitum group scutum of gyne is also longitudinally striate and the character varies in gynes from a single nest. The same was observed in T. semilaeve group. The specimen on photo is from Canaries and from this arcipelago no species of Tetramorium caespitum group was recorded. For me it looks like gyne of T. depressum (but it is a guessing game in the genus Tetramorium), the most common species on Gran Canaria.

I saw the antwiki checklist * (with references below the page) and it includes T. caespitum (obviously better referred as group because of the same complexity within the genus you spoke about ). That's why I considered it as a possibility. I know the scutum character is variable but a smooth scutum in queens is a very frequent find within this group. For these reasons I proposed this group as a possibility (but only a possibility).

* http://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Canary_Islands#Tetramorium

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Vade ad formicam...

Probably many records on Antwiki based on Fauna Europaea questionable data (unfortunately, I am also in my European catalogue uncritically quoted data from the source). In none of the four references cited on antwiki any taxon of Tetramoirium caespitum group is recorded from Canaries.

Thanks for making me noticing that , Lech!

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Vade ad formicam...

Grazie a Lech che ha potuto osservare de visu l'esemplare; possiamo ora rinominare come Tetramorium biskrense Forel, 1904 ♀