Recurvidris recurvispinosa

Japanese Name

Kakubara-ari

Forel, A. (1890) Aenictus-Typhlatta dŽcouverte de M. Wroughton. Nouveaux genres de formicides. Annales de la SociŽtŽ Entomologique de Belgique. Comptes-rendus 34: cii-cxiv.

Recurvidris recurvispinosa (Forel) (Bolton, 1992) , Trigonogaster recurvispinosus Forel (Forel, 1890) ,

Total length of workers around 2 mm. Body color yellow, gaster somewhat darker. Head rectangular, 1.1 times as long as wide, with weakly concave posterior margin in full face view. Anterior margin of clypeus broadly convex. Mandibles each with 4 teeth; the apical tooth largest; basal tooth subrectangular, with 2 acute angles. Antennal scapes slightly exceeding dorsal margin of head; apical 3 funicular segments forming a club, which is slightly longer than the preceding funicular segments together. Eyes relatively small, each with about 25 facets and tear-drop shaped, with an acutely angulate anterior corner. Propodeal spines strongly curved, with the tips pointing forwards. Petiole with a long, slender peduncle. Subpetiolar process triangular, with an acute ventral angle. Postpetiole with very gently convex dorsal margin. Postpetiole trapezoidal, broadest posteriorly; its maximum width 1.4 times the minimum width. Erect hairs present on pronotal dorsum (3 pairs), mesonotal dorsum (a single hair), petiole (2 pairs), and postpetiole (2 pairs). Head, mesonotal dorsum, petiole and postpetiole microreticulate; other parts smooth and shining.

R. recurvispinosa is distributed from India, through China, to Taiwan and Japan. In Japan it has been recorded only from Ishigaki and Iriomote Islands in the Yaeyama Island Group. This species nests in soil or under stones in forests or forest margins. A rare species in Japan.

Ishigaki I., Iriomote I.; Taiwan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, India.