Pheidole

A pheidologist and his exploration of a hyperdiverse myrmicine clade

  • The Road to Pheidole

    The Road to Pheidole

    I’ve always been interested in polymorphic ants, whether it was the mass raiding Carebara diversa and its ilk in the Philippines, or the weird top heavy Acanthomyrmex species in the tropics. So an attraction to the mostly dimorphic Pheidole genus would have been natural. I remember when I was still a teen in the Philippines,…

  • What are the Largest Pheidole Ants in the World?

    What are the Largest Pheidole Ants in the World?

    Thanks to SHmealer from formiculture.com for pointing out P. obtuspinosa and P. macclendoni, and to Leo from the same site for P. sinica. Pheidole ants tend to be on the smaller side, with many of the species having majors that are less than 5 mm in total length. However, there are species that go counter…

  • Pheidole obscurithorax invasion!

    Pheidole obscurithorax invasion!

    I first saw these ants during one of my daily walks in our community here in Central Florida. I was pleasantly surprised by the find, mainly because most of the ants I had been seeing were the usual Solenopsis invicta, interspersed with the larger Camponotus that were always in danger of being stepped on as…