Strumigenys borgmeieri Brown 1954

Dacetini, Myrmicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia

John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.

longinoj@evergreen.edu

21 April 1997

worker lateral view

Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Guanacaste: Finca La Pacifica (J. Longino 530-s). INBIOCRI001283734. Image by J. Longino.

Identification

Apical fork of mandible with a single intercalary tooth; mandible with two conspicuous preapical teeth; head very narrow; propodeal lamellae with dorsal and ventral teeth or angles; body covered with short spatulate hairs.

Head length 0.745mm, mandible length 0.451, head width 0.482, CI 65, MI 61 (n = 1 specimen from Costa Rica).

worker face view

Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Guanacaste: Finca La Pacifica (J. Longino 530-s). INBIOCRI001283734. Image by J. Longino.

Range

Brazil, Costa Rica (northern Pacific lowlands).

Natural History

Brown and Wilson (1959) summarize the genus as follows: "Widespread in tropics and warm temperate areas. Primarily forest-dwelling; some species occur in grassland and arid scrub. ... Nests mostly in soil and rotting wood; a few species live in arboreal plant cavities in tropical rain forest. Foraging hypogaeic to epigaeic-arboreal. Food: most species are collembolan feeders; a few are polyphagous predators or occasionally feed on sugary substances..."

borgmeieri is known from two collections: (1) the unique holotype from Tapera, Pernambuco, Brazil, and (2) one worker from a Winkler sample, sifted litter from the forest floor, in a patch of riparian forest surrounded by pastures, Finca La Pacifica, Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica.

Selected Records

Literature Cited

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1954. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Group of saliens Mayr. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 62:55-62.

Brown, W. L., Jr., Wilson, E. O. 1959. The evolution of the dacetine ants. Quarterly Review of Biology 34:278-294.

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