Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina (Brown 1976). Costa Rica: wet to moist forest of both slopes to mid-elevations; more abundant at mid-elevations than in the lowlands.
Identification
Dorsal surface of head distinctly striate to or nearly to the nuchal carina; disc of first gastral tergite distinctly and evenly striate over its entire surface, striation curved-transverse; large, slender species.
Natural History
This strikingly large species I have only seen as foragers in wet forest, on the forest floor, and often nocturnal. I have never seen a nest.
Type Data
Formica chelifera Latreille 1802:188. Syntype worker: South America.
Literature Cited
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1976. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section A. Introduction, subtribal characters. Genus Odontomachus. Studia Entomol. 19:67-171.
Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle de Fourmis, et recueil de memoires et d'observations sur les abeilles, les araignees, les faucheurs, et autres insectes. 445 pp. Paris.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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