Pyramica (Smithistruma) ninda (Bolton)
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 .
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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).
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