The seed-harvestingMessor pergandei is a common ant species in the Southwester United States. They display a monophasic allometry (see Wilson 1953, Oster and Wilson 1978), with a wide range in body size, with a dry body mass of 0.12-3.25mg (Feener and Lighton 1991). Within a colony there are often more smaller individuals than larger individuals (worker distributions skewed right, Lighton et al. Feener 1994).
Published morphological data on this species has used head width (Rissing and Pollock 1984, Waser 1998), mandible length (Davidson 1978) and body mass (Feener and Lighton 1991, Lighton et al. 1994). The motivation for using these measures stems from their ecology as seed-harvesting ants, inferring head width and mandible length play an important role indetermining seed size harvested.
Evidence suggests variability of mandible size (correlated to body size) decreases as competition increases (Davdison 1978). However in this species seed size and worker body size is not'size-matched', in that larger workers do not necessarily carry the largest seeds as foraging theory predicts (Rissing and Pollock 1984, Waser 1998).Although there is some evidence there is task-matching of seed size and worker size over short term periods (hours or days, Waser 1998).
Published Body Size Measurements:
Body length 3.5-8.4mm (Davidson 1978)
Head width 0.8-1.88mm (Rissing and Pollock 1984, Rissing 1987)
Mandible length 0.5-1.05mm (Davidson 1978).
Dry body mass of 0.12-3.25mg (Feener and Lighton 1991)
Live body mass ranging from 1.33-11.03mg (Lighton et al. 1994)
Veromessor pergandei is a species of harvester ant native to the Southwestern United States, especially the deserts of southeastern California. It has also been identified in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico.[1] It was first described by Gustav Mayr, who named it Aphaenogaster pergandei.[2][3] It can also be referred to as a black harvester ant or desert harvester ant, although these common names have also been applied to other species.[4][5]
V. pergandei has a head of equal length and width, with very large mandibles. It has short white or yellow hair and a large thorax. Males typically measure about 8.5 mm (0.33 in) and females about 10 mm (0.39 in).[1] However, individual size can vary based on factors such as availability of food and interspecific competition. The species is named after American myrmecologist Theodore Pergande.[6] The genus was for some time synonymized under Messor but has been split out based on a 2015 study.[7]
nest mound
worker
Like other harvester ants, V. pergandei gathers fruits and seeds for food. The seeds of perennial shrubs such as Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa are included in its diet.[8]
Veromessor pergandei is a species of harvester ant native to the Southwestern United States, especially the deserts of southeastern California. It has also been identified in the Baja California peninsula of Mexico. It was first described by Gustav Mayr, who named it Aphaenogaster pergandei. It can also be referred to as a black harvester ant or desert harvester ant, although these common names have also been applied to other species.
