Discothyrea JTL-006 Longino ms

Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia

worker face view

worker lateral view

Range

Costa Rica (Atlantic slope).

Identification

Interantennal lamella projecting as an acute angle between antennal insertions, descending to relatively shorter clypeal shelf, so that lamella appears triangular in lateral view; abdominal segment 4 elongate, in lateral profile parabolic and somewhat pointed posteriorly; antenna 9-segmented; body covered with suberect pubescence, and with short erect hairs on tibiae; anterior clypeal apron short, flat to slightly concave, with short projecting hairs; color yellow.

Natural History

Discothyrea are extremely small, cryptobiotic inhabitatants of forest leaf litter (see Genus Overview).

This species inhabits wet forest habitat in the Atlantic lowlands. It is a rare species known from few collections. Two workers have been collected: one from a Project ALAS Winkler sample from the 300m site (Cantarrana) on the Barva transect in Braulio Carrillo National Park, the other from a Project TEAM Winkler sample from La Selva Biological Station. Two alate queens have been collected, each from a separate Project ALAS canopy fogging sample. Canopy fogging samples are taken at dawn.


Page author:

John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu


Date of this version: 16 September 2005.
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