Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
|
|
|
Image of petiole.
Range
Costa Rica (type locality), Panama, Jamaica, Cuba, Grenada. Costa Rica: Atlantic and southern Pacific lowlands.
Identification
When mandibles are in their usual resting position, with tips crossed, they project beyond anterior border of clypeus, leaving a distinct gap; clypeus reduced, leaving labrum largely exposed; hypostomal teeth reduced, barely or not visible in full-face view; head distinctly narrowed behind; face with large puncta (which may be dense or somewhat dispersed and shallow); dorsal and posterior faces of petiole meeting at nearly a right angle, not or only weakly produced as a posteriorly directed tooth; legs and scapes darker brown, not contrasting strongly with head and mesosoma.
Natural History
I know this species from La Selva Biological Station and from Sirena in Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula. At La Selva I know it from stray workers and males at blacklights. At Sirena I observed a colony or colony fragment. A tight column of 39 adults was moving along a trail. They stopped at one point, the column broke up, and individuals ran madly about in a small area. After about 10 minutes of this a less well defined column moved 1m away to a spot under a Cecropia leaf. They were carrying pupae and large larvae, and one worker was missing the gaster.
Type data
Leptogenys punctaticeps Emery 1890:62. Syntype worker: Jimenez (Alfaro).
Comments
The type locality of punctaticeps is Jimenez, a site near present-day Guapiles, in the Atlantic lowlands of Costa Rica.
I used to call this species ambigua Santschi, and a different species (JTL-007) punctaticeps. John Lattke examined the types and concluded that ambigua was a junior synonym of punctaticeps, and the species I used to call punctaticeps was undescribed.
Literature Cited
Emery, C. 1890. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Decembre 1887 - Avril 1888). Formicides. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (6)10:55-76.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu
Go back to top
