Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) alluaudi Emery

Type location Seychelle Is. (Emery, 1894a: 71, worker; Forel, 1907a: 30, queen); junior synonyms augusti (Emery, 1921d: 317, replacement name for foreli, Mann, 1921: 473) from Fiji Is., foreli (Santschi, 1920g: 165, illustrated, worker) from Switzerland (on orchids in a hothouse), mactavishi (Wheeler, 1908c: 166, worker) from Society Is., and ornata (Santschi, 1920g: 166, worker) from New Caledonia; worker & queen only known (see Bolton, 1995) .

Emery's (1894a) description is at - . Forel's (1907a) description of the queen, from Tanzania is at - . Santschi's (1920g) illustrated description of foreli is at - .

Presumably a tramp species, but found well inland at Arusha in Tanzania, possibly of East African origin. Santschi (1920g) gave a record from Mombasa, Kenya. Also from inland in West Africa, see below.

Drawing from Wilson & Taylor (1967: 86 ff).

Nigeria specimens (as Plagiolepis species T¹, Taylor, 1978: 41). WORKER: TL 1.15 mm, HL 0.31, HW 0.30, SL 0.23, PW 0.17
Head and alitrunk yellow, gaster dark yellow-brown, very shiny. Unsculptured, promesonotal suture faint but not metanotal suture. Propodeum convex in profile. Erect hairs moderately abundant on gaster and moderate pilosity on the head and alitrunk.
Thought to nest in dead wood on living trees. Uncommon in but collected on cocoa at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre, and at Apoje, and observed tending Homoptera.

The photomontage is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0005903
Collection details - Cameroon: Prov. Sud-Ouest; Bimbia Forest, 7.4 km 119° ESE Limbe; 03°58'55"N 009°15'45"E, 40m. Collection Information: Collection codes: BLF2324. Date: 14 Apr 2000. Collected by: B.L.Fisher Method: EC19 sifted litter. Habitat: rainforest. Transect Type: MW 50 sample transect, 5m. Transect Sample No.: 17.