Cataulacus egenus Santschi

Type location Congo (Cataulacus egenus n. sp., Santschi, 1911c: 359, illustrated, worker) collected at Madingon, by P. Zimmermann - see below
junior synonym simplex (Cataulacus egenus Santschi, stirps simplex nov., Santschi, 1914b: 111, illustrated, worker) from Uganda, central, C Alluaud, i.1909 - no images on Antweb (September 2014)

(see Bolton 1995) .

Santschi's (1911c) description is at . Santschi's (1914b) description of simplex is at . Bolton's modern description (1974a), including male and queen, is at

Wheeler (1922: 199) noted the queen as TL 4.0-4.5 mm (Bolton has TL 6.6-7.0 mm), very similar to the worker except in the alitrunk structure; the mesonotum and sides of the pronotum are longitudinally rugulose; the wings are whitish hyaline, with the anterior border suffused with yellow, the wings pale yellow, the pterostigma dark brown.

Nigeria specimens (Taylor, 1979: 11). WORKER. TL 4.2-6.1 mm, HL 1.10-1.48, HW 1.22-1.74, SL 0.62-0.80, PW 1.14-1.60
The occipital crest is variously developed, but even when well developed it is little more than an acute angle separating the vertex from the occiput. The occipital corners have a dentiform angle or a simple acute angle. The sculpturation of the head is finely rugo-reticulate and the dorsum of the alitrunk is similar on the pronotum but more obviously longitudinally rugose on the remainder. There are no erect hairs on any dorsal surface. Similarly there are no denticles on the head or alitrunk. The alitrunk is marginate only on the pronotum, and has faintly marked sutures. The propodeal spines are long and acute. The petiole and postpetiole are strongly transversely rugose, with the postpetiole expanded laterally. The first gastral tergite is marginate basally and antero-laterally, with a parallel ridge on the sternite.

Uncommon in my Nigeria findings, they nest in rotten branches on trees, including cocoa, foraging over the trunk and leaves. I collected it also on low vegetation fringing the northern edge of the Onipe block. Also collected at CRIN (B. Bolton) and at Owena (J.T. Medler) (Bolton, 1974a: 18).

From Ghana, it was collected at Bunso (D. Leston) and CRIG (D. Gibbs) (Bolton, 1974a). Later by Room (1971) (as Cataulacus species G, defined by Bolton, 1974a) from cocoa mistletoe at the Mamfe-Mampong cocoa farm, and listed from cocoa mistletoe by Room (1975).

Bolton (1974a) also lists many findings from Zaïre.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0912547

Oxford University Museum specimens

Cataulacus egenus B Taylor det. male

Central African Republic P Annoyer IN

14.x.2008 Dzanga-Sangha 03°03'58.3" N 16°08'59.6" E

528 m; Camp 1; 21h10-3h; Sur plate-forme à 54 m du sol dans un Ayous (Triplochiton scleroxylon, Sterculiaceae) à 50 m du camp

1

The photomontage is of a male from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha Nature Reserve; collector Philippe Annoyer (CAR IN).

This differs in some aspects from the Bolton (1974a) description but the overall characteristics and size, with the transversely sulcate petiole and postpetiole, appear to place it with egenus.

The photomontage of a specimen from Kenya, collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0178292