Formicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Additional images: worker, dorsal view (reduced, original).
Range
Costa Rica: mid-elevation Atlantic slope.
Identification
Minor worker: Propodeum lacking spines or tubercles of any kind; propodeum somewhat box-like, dorsal and lateral faces flat or nearly flat and meeting at an approximate right angle; dorsal face of propodeum subrectangular; pubescence on first gastral tergite dilute, appressed to suberect, not obscuring integument; color black; propodeum not strongly projecting, forming part of continuous dorsal profile of mesosoma; in face view with relatively abundant erect setae projecting from sides of head, from mandibular insertions to level of eyes; erect setae on first gastral tergite relatively long (shorter on senex); dorsal and posterior faces of propodeum meeting at relatively sharp angle.
Similar species: senex, textor, brevis.
Natural History
This species inhabits mature rainforest canopy, where it builds nests by sewing leaves together with silk. This is one of four Camponotus species I know in Costa Rica that exhibit this behavior (see chartifex, textor, nitidior).
This species looks like an upland form of textor that has lost the dense golden pubescence on the gaster. In 1985 I made a collection at a 500m site in Braulio Carrillo National Park, just above La Selva. I cut and lowered a large live branch from the crown of a Vochysia ferruginea tree, and it contained two nests of silked-together leaves (Fig. 1). The nests were relatively small, made of only two or three Vochysia leaves held together with silk sheets. In 2003 another collection was made by Project ALAS during the expeditions to the 500m site of the Barva transect, very near the earlier collection site. A worker was obtained in a Malaise trap sample (05/M/19/079).
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Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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