E. O. Wilson.
Sympatry of the Ants Conomyrma bicolor (Wheeler) and C. pyramica (Roger).
Psyche 64(2):76, 1957.

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SYMPATHY OF THE ANTS CONOMYRMA BICOLOR (WHEELER) AND C. PYRAMICA (ROGER). - In his revision of the North American ant fauna Creighton (1950, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard, 104: 349) treats C. bicolor as a sympatric subspecies of C. pyramica, on the grounds that the two forms are separated ecologically where they occur in prox- imity.
Kusnezov (1952, Acta Zool. Lilloana, 10: 430), on the basis of purely morphological criteria, raises bicolor to species rank, even placing it in a separate subgenus, Biconomyrma. A recent re-examination of the pyramica group has cast some doubt on Kusnezov's decision, how- ever, since it has been found that bicolor does not possess the characters reputed to exist in the worker alitrunk of Biconomyrma species. It is therefore noteworthy that there is at least one locality where the two forms occur in intimate sympatry while remaining distinct with respect to characters in worker color and size. In Kingman, Mo- have Co., Arizona, during July, 1952, the author found four places inside the town limits where bicolor and pyramica nests were located within several feet of each other. The pyramica nests were outnumbered by those of bicolor by a ratio of two or three to one and were restricted to the best watered and shaded spots. They could be distinguished easily by their smaller entrance holes and smaller, more regularly formed craters. No difference in periodicity of foraging was detected. In well shaded spots both species were active to some extent throughout the day, but were inactive and absent from the upper parts of the nests in exposed, sunny spots from about 11 :00 a.m. to 3 :30 p.m. These data suggest that bicolor and pyramica are distinct biological species. - E. 0. WILSON, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University.




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