Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica (Atlantic lowland rainforest, to 600m elevation).
Identification
Opening of propodeal spiracle viewed perpendicularly slit-shaped, more than twice as long as wide (spiracle is very small, and boss around spiracle is round, but actual orifice still slit-shaped); petiole scale-shaped, tapering dorsally to rounded summit; mandible with 7 teeth, basal and masticatory margins distinct; lateral wings of clypeus divided by distinct transverse ridge, anterior portion distinctly concave and bent ventrad; frontal carinae closely approximated where they accomodate scapes, ratio of greatest distance between frontal carinae (across frontal lobes) to smallest distance 5.5; mesosoma and head similarly colored dark brown to black.
Similar species: cauta, cognata, stigma.
Natural History
This species inhabits mature lowland rainforest. I have numerous collections of workers and queens from under loose bark of dead wood on or near the ground. I occasionally collect workers from under dead wood, and I once collected workers from a dead branch from a recently fallen tree at La Selva (suggesting it can occur high in the canopy). It is odd that I have never collected this species in sifted leaf litter samples (Winkler samples). This suggests that even though it nests in rotten wood at ground level, it does not forage in the leaf litter.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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