2017 is shaping up to be a nice year as our most recent paper on some new Pheidole species in Oklahoma was just published! Pheidole are a really fascinating and speciose genus that has a dimorphic workforce that is comprised of both minor and major workers. Fittingly, they are commonly called big-headed ants! In this paper, we describe two new species for the state of Oklahoma, Pheidole pelor and Pheidole tysoni, that we found at the University of Oklahoma Biological Station near Lake Texoma in Marshall County during the last two years of work. In addition we summarize previous literature and museum collections towards a better understanding of how this genus is distributed throughout the state. In doing so, we echo the previous sentiments of our 2016 paper (Roeder & Roeder 2016) that large portions of this ecologically diverse area of the United States are poorly explored and highlight two regions, northwest and southeast Oklahoma, that may harbor a number of future discoveries.
Roeder Lab 