The morphological and taxonomic identity of Aphaenogaster Beesoni Donisthorpe: 1933 (Stenammini: Myrmicinae: Formicidae) from Hilly Areas of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa

Ghulam Mujtaba Lakho; Imran Khatri; Zubair Ahmed; Abdul Hafeez Soomro

The morphological and taxonomic identity of Aphaenogaster Beesoni Donisthorpe

1933 (Stenammini: Myrmicinae: Formicidae) from Hilly Areas of Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa

Authors

Ghulam Mujtaba Lakho Deputy Director, Agriculture Extension, Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.
Imran Khatri Professor, Department of Entomology, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Pakistan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2646-4156
Zubair Ahmed Associate Professor, Department of Zoology, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
Abdul Hafeez Soomro Post Graduate Scholar, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130117, China.

Keywords:

Aphaenogaster Beesoni, Morphology, taxonomy, Ant diversity, Myrmicinae

Abstract

This study focuses on the morphology and taxonomy of a Stenammini species, Aphaenogaster beesoni Donisthorpe, 1933, of the Myrmicinae subfamily. Ant specimens were collected using pitfall traps, baiting, and leaf litter sifting in diverse habitats including forests, deserts and agricultural fields, from provinces of Pakistan. Samples were collected and preserved in ethanol, and identified by different taxonomic keys. The worker ants are less than 5 mm in length and are light brown colored with a two-toned body. Petiolar nodes were specialized; morphological analysis showed 12-segmented antenna with a club segment for four, complex elongated mesosoma and morphological features were shown. The study also looks at ecological adaptations and divergence among the species, through A. beesoni. The results provide important insight into the taxonomic diversity and functional role of the genus, including that of mutualistic seed dispersal. The regional biodiversity studies of Aphaenogaster are ideally suited to build on this foundation in the future.

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The morphological and taxonomic identity of Aphaenogaster Beesoni Donisthorpe