Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) pallescens Forel

Type location Greece (Plagiolepis pygmaea var pallescens Forel, 1889: 265, worker; Santschi, 1911i: 287, queen; Finzi, 1928c: 790, male [not in HNS list]; variety of pygmaeus, Ruzsky, 1902d: 18 [unavailable], Santschi, 1920g: 168; raised to species Emery, 1921d: 315, Finzi, 1928c: 790)
subspecies
atlantis (Plagiolepis maura Sants. var. atlantis n. var., Santschi, 1920g: 171, all forms) from Tunisia
elguerrhae (Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) pallescens For. var. elguerrhae nova, Karavaiev, 1931a: 311, illustrated, worker & queen) from Algeria
isis (Plagiolepis pallescens Forel var. isis nov., Santschi, 1938a: 39, illustrated antennae, worker & queen) from Egypt
polygyna (Plagiolepis maura Sants. var. palygyna n. var., Santschi, 1922a: 67, worker & queen; spelling emended by Emery, 1925b: 21) from Tunisia

Forel (1889) simply denoted pallescens as a variety separable from the type pygmaea on the basis of being bright yellow to bright light yellow-brown on the posterior gaster. Santschi (1911i) noted this variety (of pygmaea) could be attached by its relatively elongated antennae to schmitzi. Emery (1921d) made a study of the pygmaea group of Mediterranean species; this is at - .

Note We follow Collingwood (1985: 297) as recognizing Plagiolepis maura as a distinct species. The status of the above listed maura varieties cannot be determined. We have raised Plagiolepis sordida to species status

Santschi's (1920g) description is at . Karavaiev's (1931a) description of elguerrhae is at . Santschi's (1938a) description of isis is at .

Egypt Records - Santschi (1938a: 39) reported isis workers and queens from Ghezireh, 23.viii.1923, from nest in millet plant (Alfieri), possibly the same as atlantis reported by Finzi (1936); Donisthorpe (1942a) recorded sordida from Siwa, Zeitoun & Khamissa, 17 workers.

El-Ziady (1958) included information that - "Recent finding (unpublished data) showed that the root aphid Triphidaphis phaseoli Thoe [(Passerini)?] on bean roots depended on the ants Paratrechina jaegerskioeldi Mayr and Plagiolepis pallescens Forel for its transportation and dissemination from plant to plant and from one crop to another" [El-Ziady, S. 1958. Ants, the probable agents of the onset of infestation of cotton with aphids and coccids. Bull. Soc. Ent. Egypt, 62, xx.]

Sharaf list - Material examined: Abu-Madi, Zaranik (North Sinai), 6.v.2003 (3) (SHC); Giza, 20.ii.1955 (4) (ASUC).

Mohamad thesis (1979) had - Kom Osheim (Fayium), 9.v.1954; Quseir (Red Sea), 24.ii.1955; Giza, 20.iii.1955; Baharyia oasis (Western desert),18.I.1958; Aswan, 8.ii.1975; Cairo, 2.vi.1975; Tanta (Nile Delta), xii.1977; El-Mahalla El-Kobra (Nile Delta), 8.xii.1977; Quseir (Red Sea), 25.i.1978; Baharyia oasis (Western desert), 6.iii.1979 (Coll.Ain.).

The photomontage is of specimens collected at Zaranik, N. Sinai, 30°39' N 34°26' E ; 5.v.2003; Mostafa Sharaf. Other images can be seen in the folders at and .

Photomontage of a specimen from Egypt, photographs by Mostafa Sharaf, DSCN2248-50