Dolichoderinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica south to Amazonian Brazil. Costa Rica: southern and central Pacific lowlands.
Identification
Color black with orange legs; generally devoid of erect setae; mesonotum in dorsal view about as long as wide (rather than wider than long).
Natural History
From MacKay 1993:
Nests are found under bark of trees, especially Leuhea sp. and Bombacopsis sp. (Swain, 1977), and are frequently found in arboreal termitaries of Nasutitermes ephratae (Wheeler, 1936; Lattke, 1986; Swain, 1977). They also nest in Cattleya. This species is common along rivers in Costa Rica; one nest had 1000+ workers, 168 males, 28 alate females and one dealate female (Swain, 1977). Colonies may be polydomic (Swain, 1977). Workers are nocturnal and forage in the canopy of the tropical forest. This species is not aggressive and does not have the "tapinoma" odor of many of the other species in the genus. [MacKay Literature Cited]
To this I can add very little. I know the species only from scattered workers, usually in treefalls, from Corcovado National Park, Carara Biological Reserve, and just below Guacimal on the road to Monteverde.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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