Lordomyrma azumai

Japanese Name

Mizogashira-ari

Santschi, F. (1941) Quelques fourmis japonaises inŽdites. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 18: 273-279.

Rogeria (Rogeria) azumai Santschi, 1941, Lordomyrma nobilis Yasumatsu, 1950, Lordomyrma azumai: Brown, 1952,

Total length of workers around 3 mm. Body color yellowish brown to reddish brown. Eyes convex, situated beneath the antennal scrobes at the midlength of the head. Antennal scrobes deep, extending to posterior corners of head. Anterior median projection of clypeus rather angulate. Antennal scapes almost reaching posterior corners of head. Metanotal groove deeply impressed. Propodeal spines acute. Petiole subtriangular in profile; subpetiolar process small. Body hairs erect, abundant. Head, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole covered with irregular striation and small punctures. Surface of gaster obscurely, finely sculptured.

Yasumatsu (1950) described L. nobilis from Kyushu, ostensibly the first species of Lordomyrma from E. Asia. Later Brown (1951) examined the type of Rogeria azumai, formerly described by Santschi (1941) from Minoo, Osaka, and assigned it to Lordomyrma, as the senior synonym of L. azumai. Lordomyrma azumai is found in the soil of broadleaf forests, nesting under stones or in the hollow cores of fallen twigs. Its biology was reported by Azuma (1949) and Masuko & Kannari (1980). The northernmost record is from Kuroba-cho, Tochigi Prefecture (Murata, 1990), the southern most from Yaku Island. A rather rare species.

Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu.