Pyramica japonica

Japanese Name

Yamato-uroko-ari

Ito, T. (1914) Formicidarum Japonicum species novae vel minus cognitae. Annales de la SociŽtŽ Entomologique de Belgique 58: 40-45.

Strumigenys japonica Ito, 1914, Strumigenys (Cephaloxys) japonica Ito: Emery, 1924, Smithistruma (Smithistruma) japonica (Ito): Brown, 1948, Weberistruma japonica (Ito): Brown, 1953, Smithistruma japonica (Ito): Bolton, 1983, Pyramica japonica (Ito): Bolton, 1999,

Total length of workers around 2 mm. Body color yellowish to reddish brown. Head somewhat slender in general shape, its posterior corners rather angulate. Clypeus almost as long as broad, not fringed with spatulate hairs; anterior margin projecting in the middle. Ventral margin of antennal scrobes reaching as far as eyes. Eyes large, maximum diameter greater than the length of the apical antennal segment. Antennal scapes flattened, without angulate leading edges. Promesonotal area not raised. Propodeal spines distinct. Dorsal surfaces of head and pronotum without standing hairs, but with dense depressed, scale-like hairs.

P. japonica has been confused in the past with both Pyramica benten and P. mazu. It is in fact a rare species. In addition to the type-locality (Nagato, Yamaguchi Prefecture), confirmed distribution records are from the Kansai and Chugoku districts of Honshu, and Okinawa Island.

Honshu (Kyoto [Akio Taki leg.], Miyajima, Hiroshima Pref. [Morikawa leg.], Nagato, Yamaguchi Pref.), Okinawa I.; Korea.