Crematogaster (Sphaerocrema) rugosior Santschi
Type location Congo (Cremastogaster
luctans Forel stirps rugosior, n. st., Santschi, 1910c:
375,
worker; Wheeler, 1922: 156, queen) collected at Brazzaville, by Weiss -
see below
Wheeler (1922) raised it to full species status; worker
and queen
described (see Bolton, 1995) .
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Santschi's (1910c) description is at .
Wheeler (1922) had a description, by Santschi, of the
queen as follows -
FEMALE (undescribed) - length 8 mm. Thorax smooth and
shining like the posterior half of the head and that of the worker,
except its upper surface and the sides of the propodeum which have
rugae as in the worker. Head rectangular, a little longer than broad,
scarcely arcuate laterally. The eyes occupy nearly the middle third of
the sides and the scapes barely extend beyond its posterior fourth.
Clypeus with a strong median impression near its anterior border.
Thorax as broad as the head. Propodeum nearly vertical, but the
insertion of the spines is marked by an angular ridge which occupies
nearly the upper half of the sides of the segment. Petiole as in the
worker, with a tooth beneath. Wings 7 mm. long, hyaline, with brownish
veins. Otherwise like the worker." (Santschi).
The original collection by Weiss was from bamboo an
which the ants tended coccids (cochenilles, Santschi, 1910c). Wheeler
noted that numerous workers and a few females were collected at
Kisangani, Zaïre, (Stanleyville; Lang, Chapin, and J.
Bequaert), but gave no other data. Bequaert (1922, p 405) described it
as the only species he found in domatia of the myrmecophyte, Randia
myrmecophyta. Each cavity was in the spindle-shaped middle portions
of the stem internodes. These cavities, mostly with a single round
opening, were 10-12 cm long and 6-7 mm wide. Each cavity apparently
contained its own nest with brood and, often was divided into chambers
by transverse walls of "brown, malaxated pith debris" [I surmise this
was a form of carton as used by many Crematogaster species].
Bequaert did not see how this small and timid ant could give its host
much protection. The plant was widely distributed throughout the Congo
Basin.
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