Strumigenys consanii 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
Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Heredia: 8km N. Volcan Barba, 1830m (J. Longino 1324). INBIOCRI001284017. Image by J. Longino.
Identification
Apical fork of mandible with no intercalary teeth; mandible with no preapical teeth; postpetiole swollen, its dorsum smooth and shining; setae on gaster straight, not bent or coachwhip-like.
Head length 0.64-0.66mm, mandible length 0.41-0.42, CI 78-80, MI 63-64 (n=5 workers from 1 locality; Brown 1962).
Similar species: elongata, precava.
|
Specimen: Costa Rica, Prov. Heredia: 8km N. Volcan Barba, 1830m (J. Longino 1324). INBIOCRI001284017. Image by J. Longino. |
Range
Costa Rica: known from two sites in the Cordillera Central.
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..."
consanii may be arboreal, since it has been collected under epiphytes.
Selected Records
La Palma, 1400m (a site about 20km NE of San Jose, at the edge of Braulio Carrillo National Park): type collection by Tristan.
Braulio Carrillo National Park at 1830m: mature wet forest. Colony under moss mat in large, old treefall.
Literature Cited
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1954(1953). The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Group of elongata Roger. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 61:189-200.
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1962. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: Synopsis and keys to the species. Psyche 69:238-267.
Brown, W. L., Jr., Wilson, E. O. 1959. The evolution of the dacetine ants. Quarterly Review of Biology 34:278-294.
Go back to top