title: Ants of the genus Solenopsis Westwood 1840 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula with description of a new species, Solenopsis elhawagryi.
abstract: Ants of the genus Solenopsis Westwood in the Arabian Peninsula are revised. Six species are treated: Solenopsis elhawagryi Sharaf & Aldawood sp. n., S. geminata (Fabricius, 1804), S. omana Collingwood & Agosti, 1996, S. saudiensis Sharaf & Aldawood, 2011, S. sumara Collingwood & Agosti, 1996, and S. zingibara Collingwood & Agosti, 1996. Solenopsis elhawagryi is described from Beljorashi Governorate, Al Baha Province, Saudi Arabia, based on worker castes and the queen with notes on this species biology and ecology. Solenopsis sumara workers are redescribed and illustrated for the first time and a lectotype is designated. An identification key to the Arabian and Egyptian species is provided with scanning electron micrographs to facilitate species recognition.
authors.affiliation: Plant Protection Department, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Mostafa R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Sharaf
authors.forename: Abdulrahman S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Aldawood
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001000:Ants / Q000145:classification / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D005260:Female; D018703:Founder Effect; D008297:Male; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010802:Phylogeny; D058974:Phylogeography; D012529:Saudi Arabia