Dacetini, Myrmicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Identification
Apical fork of mandible with one intercalary tooth; mandible lacking preapical teeth or denticles; gaster smooth and shining, with long flagelliform setae; longitudinal or oblique costulation as the main component on the pronotal dorsum; any punctate sculpture that may be present is feeble and very obviously secondary to the costulate component.
Range
Venezuela, Costa Rica. Costa Rica: mid-elevation northern Atlantic slopes.
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..."
This species inhabits wet forest leaf litter. Lattke and Goitia (1997) discovered the species in a cloud forest site in the interior of Venezuela. This report extends the range to two montane cloud forest sites in Costa Rica. This species is probably widespread but undersampled.
Selected Records
Winkler samples from Guanacaste Conservation Area (Pitilla, 600m) and Braulio Carrillo National Park (1000m).
Type Data
Strumigenys humata Lattke and Goitia 1997:385-386, Figs. 35,44. Holotype worker: Venezuela, Aragua: Loma de Hierro, 10deg10'N 67deg08'W, 25.5km SE La Victoria, 1400m (J. Lattke) [MIZA].
Literature Cited
Brown, W. L., Jr., and E. O. Wilson 1959. The evolution of the dacetine ants. Quarterly Review of Biology 34:278-294.
Lattke, J., and W. Goitia 1997. El genero Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en Venezuela. Caldasia 19:367-396.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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