Myrmicinae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
Range
Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica. Costa Rica: lowland wed forests of both slopes.
Identification
Antennae 12-segmented; petiolar peduncle shorter than node; antennal scapes in repose surpassing vertex margin; color orange.
Natural History
Nesomyrmex anduzei is a rare element of lowland rainforest canopy. I have found workers in seven fresh treefalls, three on the Osa Peninsula and four at La Selva Biological Station. In one of the treefalls on the Osa, I observed workers carrying brood into a hole in a knot that went deep into a large live branch. I have never found a foraging worker at ground level. In the canopy fogging program carried out by the ALAS project at La Selva, N. anduzei has been collected in 4 of 52 fogged trees.
Comments
At the time of Kempf's 1959 revision, this species was known only from two collections: the type series of several workers from Venezuela, and a worker from Colombia.
The types at MCZ have contrasting dark brown heads, and the head seems relatively shorter and broader than Costa Rican material.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu