Cardiocondyla israelica Seifert 2003

Cardiocondyla israelica Seifert, 2003 (Figure 19) Cardiocondyla israelica Seifert, 2003, p. 231, fig. 12 (w.q.) Israel, Egypt. Palaearctic. Diagnosis Worker. This species can be diagnosed by the following characters: uniform brown; metanotal groove depressed in profile; propodeal spines slightly long with axis in profile deviating 58° from longitudinal mesosomal axis; foveolae on vertex large, well demarcated, bicoronate, and densely packed; anteromedian part of vertex with well-developed longitudinal sculpture; gastral pubescence dense. Material examined Four sites: 3; 6; 7; 8. Geographic range. This species was previously known only from Egypt and Israel. Ecology and biology. A paratype material of C. israelica was collected by the senior author from a saline habitat in a small village called ‘Kafr Al Amir Abd Allah Ibn Salam’, in the Daqahlyia governorate, Egypt (Nile Delta). The species was found nesting under Tamarix L. (Tamaricaceae) trees and Phragmites Adans (Poaceae) reeds, directly in compact clay, salty and humid soil.