The Ants of Africa
Genus Pyramica
Pyramica (Smithistruma) ninda (Bolton)

Pyramica (Smithistruma) ninda (Bolton)

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Cameroun (Smithistruma ninda sp. n., Bolton, 1983: 284, illustrated, full-face view, worker), collected at Nko'emvon by D.A. Jackson, 28.1x.1980; holotype and 6 paratype workers - see below; two further collections at same site .


Bolton's description (1983) is at {original description}.


{Pyramica (Smithistruma) ninda}Nigeria specimen (as Miccostruma species Tą, Taylor 1979: 43). WORKER. TL 1.63 mm, HL 0.48, HW 0.37, SL 0.20, PW 0.22
Colour dark yellow-brown, extremities orange, shiny except for the head. Eyes moderate below the scrobes. Very sparse pilosity just visible on the head and gaster under high magnification. Erect hairs, all spatulate, are restricted to the antennal scapes, the gastral apex, a pair at the anterior end of the first gastral tergite and a pair on the post petiole.
I collected a single specimen at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre. It was on cocoa flowers at 120 cm above ground, together with Tapinoma lugubre (previously Technomyrmex detorquens) possibly tending aphids.
This was listed by Bolton (1983), together with findings from IITA (B.R. Critchley; A. Russell-Smith).

Ghana records include CRIG (D. Leston) and Mampong (P.M. Room). Latter listed as Miccostruma mandibularis, from soil under Euphorbia at Mampong Cemetery farm (Room, 1971). Recently, collected from leaf litter (55 workers) under cocoa at Ofinso, Effiduase and Bunso, secondary forest at Nkwanda, and primary forest at Bunso in the semi-deciduous forest zone, by Belshaw & Bolton (1994b).

Also known from Ivory Coast, at Gregbeu and Mongaga (V. Mahnert & J.-L. Perret); and from Chad at Umg. Maundou (H. Franz).


{Pyramica (Smithistruma) ninda}The photomontage of the holotype is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0102550.

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