Cataulacus moloch Bolton
Type
location Ghana (Bolton, 1982: 361, illustrated, profile of
head, alitrunk and pedicel, worker) collected at Pankese (C.A.
Collingwood, 24.xi.68); also one paratype
.
Bolton's description is at
.
WORKER - (illustrated specimen) TL 3.1 mm, HL 0.78, HW 0.74, SL
0.38, PW 0.60 (in my guide as Cataulacus brevisetosus Forel)
Others: TL 3.4, HL 0.90, HW 0.80, SL 0.42, PW 0.60 .
Occipital corners denticulate with a second denticle on the occipital
margin close to the corner. Sides of head behind the eyes usually
minutely denticulate. Dorsum of head and pronotum finely and densely
reticulate-rugose. Remainder of alitrunk usually more rugose
longitudinally, as are the petiole and postpetiole. Gaster dorsally
finely and densely reticulate-punctate. Alitrunk marginate laterally,
especially on the pronotum. Pronotal margin with a row of small or
minute denticles, plus a few also on the mesonotal and propodeal
margins and occasionally on the outer borders of the propodeal spines.
The propodeal spines are short but distinct. The subpostpetiolar
process is a simple blunt spine. On the clypeus and usually on the
remainder of the dorsum of the head the hairs are short and stout,
clavate or sub-orbicular. The remainder of the body has numerous
short, stout simple hairs.
In Nigeria, my collections included the 2 paratype workers
listed by Bolton (1982) from cocoa tree 47-16 at Onipe, where it was
seen several times in the 1975 wet season. Otherwise (as Cataulacus
brevisetosus) my staff and I noted that it was quite commonly
found on cocoa and shrub vegetation, nesting in hollow twigs, and
tending Homoptera, it was also found on coffee (for instance at the
coffee plots, SC and S8/2 and on edge vegetation at W22). Earlier
found at CRIN (B. Bolton), and at Araromi (Bolton, 1974a), and
possibly one of the unnamed species in Booker (1968). |