Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Identification
Minor worker: head length 0.62mm, head width 0.53mm, scape length 0.68mm, Webers length 0.74mm (n=1). Head without vertex collar; promesonotal and metanotal grooves well impressed; propodeal spines moderately long; face and mesosoma uniformly densely foveolate; gastral dorsum foveolate anteriorly, fading to smooth and shiny posteriorly; erect setae short, stiff, golden; a pair of conspicuous setae on face, none on mesosoma, sparse setae on gastral dorsum; color light orange-brown.
Major worker: head length 1.01mm, head width 0.97mm, scape length 0.69mm (n=1); face and mesosoma uniformly densely foveolate; hypostomal margin flat with pair of widely-spaced teeth, each tooth sharp and needle-like, located near small recessed teeth flanking mandibles; sides of head without erect setae; face and gastral dorsum with sparse, stiff, erect setae, none on mesosoma.
Taxonomically, radoszkowskii is a polytypic species with the nominal plus ten subspecies. The species complex occurs throughout the Neotropics. We see evidence for two species in the radoszkowskii complex in Costa Rica, pugnax and luteola. We retain the trinomial nomenclature only to conform to the current taxonomic status of the name, not to imply any biological significance of subspecies vs. species rank.
Range
Antilles - St. Vincent (type locality), Brazil, Costa Rica. Costa Rica: Pacific lowlands and central valley.
Natural History
This species occurs in open, recently disturbed habitats. Nests are beneath dead wood on the ground. Workers forage on the ground and in low vegetation.
Selected Records
La Pita (120m along road to Monteverde): on roadside vegetation.
Corcovado National Park (Sirena): second growth veg.; nest beneath a board on the ground.
Corcovado National Park (Sirena): grassy habitat; minors and majors recruited to dead Heliconius hewitsoni on ground.
5km E Tres Rios, El Alto de Ochomogo.
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
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