Morphological Studies on the Mature Worker Larvae of Paratrechina fulva (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Paper originally published with the extinct Sociobiology Journal at: http://www.csuchico.edu/biol/Sociobiology/volume/sociobiologyv55n32010.html<div>Original contains no link nor DOI number. </div><div>I have retained copyrights.</div><div>Abstract: The ant <em>Paratrechina fulva</em> is native to Brazil, but has spread to other countries where it has become a serious pest. Their larvae are known from a preliminary description made without the aid of scanning electron microscopy. The present investigation aimed at describing the mature worker larvae of this species in deeper detail, while identifying useful morphological characters for taxonomy and cladistics. General morphological traits typical of <em>Paratrechina</em> larvae described so far were also confirmed with this species, particularly regarding body shape, types of hairs, and distribution pattern of head sensilla, but <em>P. fulva</em> presented unusually shaped mandibles.</div><br>KEY WORDS: larval characters; scanning electron microscopy; taxonom