Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
Identification
Minor worker: same general size and shape as decem; HW approximately 0.4mm. Antenna 10-segmented; head somewhat flattened behind, with weak median indentation; mesonotal suture absent; propodeal spines moderately long; face and pronotum entirely smooth and shining, shiny patches on katepisternum and side of propodeum; first gastral tergum smooth and shining; dorsal pilosity sparse, moderately long, stiff; color red brown.
Major worker: Face punctatorugose throughout; hypostomal margin gently curved, with median tooth, and a pair of stout teeth about one half distance from midline to recessed teeth flanking mandible bases; dorsal pilosity moderately abundant; head with abundant short setae projecting from sides of head in face view.
See additional observations under decem, an ecological cognate from the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica.
Range
Costa Rica, Peru. Costa Rica: southern Pacific lowlands.
Natural History
Canopy species that nests beneath epiphytes. They may also forage at or near ground level.
Selected Records
Osa Peninsula: workers have been collected at extrafloral nectaries of Passiflora pittieri, near ground level.
Corcovado National Park (Sirena): in a a two day old treefall in primary forest. A nest was on and in a dead stick. There were two separate chambers in the stick, each one about 3mm wide and 10cm long, just under thin dead bark. The queen and most of the colony were not in these chambers, but rather outside under earth shelters. These earth shelters may have been old termite galleries. There were many minors, but only one major was seen.
Page authors:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu
Stefan Cover, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA. scover@oeb.harvard.edu
Last modified: 4 December 1997
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