Taxonomy and Morphology of the West African Army Ant, Aenictus asantei n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

A new species of West African army ant, Aenictus asantei , is described from the worker caste and queen. The worker can be distinguished from other African species by the combination of the following characteristics: its large size, the presence of denticles on the anterior margin of the clypeus, and the rugous nature of the posterior two-thirds of the alitrunk. The queen is only the fourth in the genus from sub-Saharan Africa to be described and is unique thus far among the queens in its possession of a median ocellus. Other Aenictus queens lack both eyes and ocelli. A detailed histological description of the internal morphology of the worker is provided.