Plagiolepis mediorufa

Plagiolepis mediorufa had only been recorded from the Congo and the Central African Republic, generally from myrmecophilous plants. My Gambian specimens were collected from plants, trees and a palm frond in Bijilo Forest Park, Kololi and Abuko National Park, Lamin, but nothing about the plants indicated that they were adapted to supporting ants. The Gambia also represents a significant range extension north and westwards.

The trouble is that I suspect there may be a few, as yet undescribed, small yellow and morphologically similar species of Plagiolepis in Africa as a whole. I have placed my specimens in P. mediorufa because it is currently the best fit, but would be interested to see where they are placed if the genus is ever reviewed.

The specimen that I photographed was sadly rather battered. Plagiolepis often tend to be rather soft and fragile, and so shrivel when they dry. Tapinoma does the same thing. (I think the funiculus of the antenna was missing when I collected it.) It was still the best of the three specimens that I had mounted.