Formicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Additional images: minor worker, dorsal view of mesosoma (reduced, original).
Range
Costa Rica, Panama. Costa Rica: Atlantic and southern Pacific lowlands.
Identification
Minor worker: entire body smooth shiny orange; propodeal suture strongly constricted.
Natural History
This is an enigmatic and rare species. It has a highly distinctive morphology unlike any other Camponotus in Costa Rica. I twice collected workers in Corcovado National Park, at Sirena. I have no notes for one of the collections, but the other was from a recent treefall. Phil Ward also collected the species in Corcovado, at Llorona. I also collected it at La Selva Biological Station, where I found workers in a recent treefall. This is the only known collection from La Selva, in spite of extensive inventory effort, including 52 canopy fogging samples.
Type Data
Notes
Alex Wild provides this note (12 February 2004): I've been going through my Camponotus from a recent Ecuador trip, and your web site led me to Camponotus constructor, of which I picked up a single specimen in the lowland western wet forest. These things are quite similar to a South American species, C. dimorphus, a shiny orange Myrmobrachys with a distinct strongly depressed propodeum. C. constructor looks like a more elongate dimorphus, with dark scapes. Interestingly this association would make constructor a Myrmobrachys, gracile appearance aside...
Literature Cited
Forel, A. 1899. Biologia Centrali-Americana; or, contributions to the knowledge of the fauna and flora of Mexico and Central America. Insecta. Hymenoptera. 3 (Formicidae). London. 169 pp.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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