Brachyponera sennaarensis

Brachyponera sennaarensis (Mayr, 1862) (Figures 41 and 42) Ponera sennaarensis Mayr, 1862, p. 721 (w.) Sudan. Afrotropical. Diagnosis Worker. Large species (TL 5–6); black-brown to black, antennae, tibiae, and tarsi red; head in full-face view with convex sides and emarginated posterior margin; scapes, when laid back from their insertions, fail to reach posterior margin of head; eyes relatively large, situated well in front of midlength of head by about its length; metanotal groove deeply and broadly impressed; petiole a high and thick node with a straight anterior surface and a convex posterior surface; first and second gastral tergites separated by a distinct constriction; gaster ending with a powerful sting; middle tibia with one small simple and one large pectinate; mesosoma with several pairs of setae scattered over mesonotum and propodeal dorsum; body surfaces covered with fine and dense pubescence. Material examined Ten sites: 9; 10; 12; 13; 15; 19; 23; 27; 28; 29. Geographic range. A species with an Afrotropical origin (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood et al. 2004), that is successfully broadly distributed throughout all countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Collingwood et al. 2011; Wetterer 2013; Sharaf et al. 2017, 2018b, 2020a, 2023). Ecology and biology. This species is well known for its powerful sting that frequently leads to anaphylactic shock and even death (Dib et al. 1992, 1995; Al-Shahwan et al. 2006; Al-Anazi et al. 2009). Brachyponera sennaarensis varies in feeding habit from being a predaceous scavenger feeding on human food products and rubbish or dead insects (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood et al. 2004; Al-Khalifa et al. 2010) to granivore, consuming plant seeds (Lévieux and Diomande 1978; Lachaud and Déjean 1994; Nikbakhtzadeh et al. 2009), or insect predator (Al-Khalifa et al. 2010; Wetterer 2013) attacking honeybee hives (Whitcombe 1982). Nests are built directly in the soil with a remarkable preference for moist habitats (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Tirgari and Paknia 2005), a phenomenon explaining the occurrence of the species in irrigated plantations and public gardens in the cities of KSA (Sharaf et al. 2018b).