Formicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Additional images: queen, face view (small, large); worker from Saporito et al. (2004) study (click here).
Range
Argentina, Brazil (type locality), Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica. Costa Rica: La Selva, Hitoy Cerere.
Identification
Face smooth, with abundant short erect setae and sparse appressed pubescence; scapes surpass vertex margin by length of first two funicular segments; pronotum and mesonotum each with pair of dorsal setae; first gastral tergite with about 6 conspicuous erect setae, not including posterior row, no appressed pubescence; metanotal groove weakly impressed; color yellow; queen large, head width across eyes about 0.66mm.
Natural History
I have relatively few observations of this species. At La Selva Biological Station, it occurred in only 1 of 51 Project ALAS fogging samples, but I collected it by hand twice in tree canopies, once in a Pentaclethra and once in a Terminalia. I also collected it in a Winkler sample of forest floor leaf litter from Hitoy Cerere. I collected a nest in the Santa Marta area of Colombia, in a 9mm diameter dead stick.
This concept of longicornis matched Panamanian specimens sent to me by Ralph Saporito, and reported in a study of alkaloidal toxins of dendrobatid frogs (Saporito et al. 2004).
Literature Cited
Saporito, R. A., H. M. Garraffo, M. A. Donnelly, A. L. Edwards, J. T. Longino, and J. W. Daly. 2004. Formicine ants: An arthropod source for the pumiliotoxin alkaloids of dendrobatid poison frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 101:8045-8050.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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