The Army Ant Aenictus wroughtonii (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aenictinae) and Related Species in the Oriental Region, with Descriptions of Two New Species

Abstract

The Aenictus wroughtonii species group is established to include seven species (five named and two new species) occurring in the Oriental and Indo-Australian regions: A. artipus WILSON, A. biroi FOREL, A. camposi WHEELER et CHAPMAN, A. sagei FOREL, A. stenocephalus JAITRONG et YAMANE, sp. nov., A. vieti JAITRONG et YAMANE, sp. nov. and A. wroughtonii FOREL. Three species are restricted to western part of the Oriental region, i.e, India and Sri Lanka (A. biroi, A. sagei and A. wroughtonii), and four are mainly distributed in Southeast Asia (A. artipus, A. camposi, A. stenocephalus sp. nov. and A. vieti sp. nov.). A. artipus is new to Vietnam, and A. camposi is new to Sumatra. Among food source of this species group are small ants of the subfamily Formicinae such as Paratrechina, Prenolepis and Plagiolepis.