Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica to W. Ecuador (Brown 1976). Costa Rica: Atlantic slope wet forest to 700m elevation, from Cordillera de Guanacaste to the Talamancas.
Identification
Face to near margin of vertex striate; gaster smooth and shining; head red, body black, legs yellow.
Natural History
This species is common and, with its bright red head, conspicuous in the Atlantic lowland rainforests of Costa Rica. It inhabits mature forest, foraging on the ground and low vegetation, and nesting in rotten wood on the ground or rotten stumps. In one case I was collecting at the edge of an old lava field on Volcan Arenal, an area of boulders and open sand, with very little vegetation. A populous colony was under a stone in a narrow strip of grass.
Type Data
Odontomachus haematodes r. erythrocephalus Emery 1890:44. Syntype workers: Costa Rica: Alajuela, Jimenez.
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.
Emery, C. 1890. Studii sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. I-V. Boll. Soc. Entomol. It. 22:38-80.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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