Camponotus baldaccii

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Camponotus baldaccii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Camponotus
Species: C. baldaccii
Binomial name
Camponotus baldaccii
Emery, 1908

Camponotus baldaccii casent0179862 p 1 high.jpg

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Specimen Labels

Very thermophilous species. Prefers open and sunny habitats, especially pastures with shrubs, stony hills with scarce vegetation and few trees, fryganas, periodic riverbeds, roadsides, limestone gorges but was noted also from pine groves, olive plantations, stream valleys with luminous deciduous or pine forest. Foraging workers were often observed in tourist resorts and villages on fig trees searching for producing honeydew aphids and cocccids. Nests in soil under large stones. Most records are from low and mid altitude below 500 m, the highest locality was from Lefka Ori Mts., Crete at an altitude 1800 m. (Borowiec and Salata 2022)

Identification

Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - C. baldaccii is a small species of Tanaemyrmex, with hindtibia flattened but without a distinct dorsomedial ridge, and with a ventral row of bristles. It has abundant erect setae on the ventral head surface but lacks such setae on the genae. The ground sculpture is feeble and the entire ant is shiny, except for major workers, whose head and mesosoma dorsum are sub-matte. The body of major workers is reddish-yellow, with the head, dorsum of mesosoma, dorsum of first two gaster tergites, and the three posterior-most gaster segments brown. C. baldaccii is similar to Camponotus cecconii differing in the feebler ground sculpture, and with major workers having the head and mesosoma dorsum sub-matte, as opposed to matte in Camponotus cecconii. C. baldaccii is similar to Camponotus sp. near baldaccii, a species misidentified as Camponotus sanctus in Tohmé and Tohmé (2000: 390), in having the hindtibia without a distinct dorsomedial ridge, relatively abundant erect setae on the ventral head surface, and a similar sculpture and color pattern, but differing from it by its distinctly smaller size: HW < 3.3 mm in C. baldaccii (Collingwood and Agosti, 1996) and HW up to 3.8 mm in Camponotus sp. near baldaccii (Tohmé and Tohmé, 2000).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Southeastern Europe, Turkey (Asia Minor), and Saudi Arabia (Radchenko, 1997b).

This is southern and eastern species in Greece, recorded from Crete, the Aegean Islands, the Dodecanese and from only one locality in Sterea Ellas. New to Thrace (Borowiec et al., 2022).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 41.9° to 35.03169°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia.
Palaearctic Region: Greece (type locality), Israel, Türkiye.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Association with Other Organisms

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • This species is a host for the fungus Laboulbenia camponoti (a parasite) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Laboulbenia camponoti (a pathogen) (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • baldaccii. Camponotus maculatus subsp. baldaccii Emery, 1908a: 198.
    • [First available use of Camponotus maculatus subsp. dichrous var. baldaccii Emery, 1894j: 9 (s.w.) GREECE (Crete); unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
    • Type-material: syntype major and minor workers (numbers not stated).
    • Type-locality: Greece: Crete I., 1893 (G. Cecconi).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 100.
    • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1896d: 371 (in list); Emery 1897f: 239.
    • Subspecies of maculatus: Emery, 1915h: 2; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1916: 174.
    • Subspecies of sylvaticus: Emery, 1920c: 6; Emery, 1925b: 100; Menozzi, 1936d: 300; Aktaç, 1977: 126.
    • Status as species: Collingwood, 1985: 279; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 284 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 87; Radchenko, 1996b: 1201 (in key); Radchenko, 1997d: 807; Petrov, 2006: 110 (in key); Vonshak, et al. 2009: 38; Ionescu-Hirsch, 2010: 63; Legakis, 2011: 28; Karaman, C. et al. 2011: 189; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 472; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 6; Karaman, C. & Aktaç, 2013: 53 (in key); Borowiec, L. 2014: 27; Lebas, et al. 2016: 158; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 4; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 43; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2022: 115.
    • Distribution: Cyprus, Greece, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - TL = 8.7–12.5, HL = 1.97–3.13, HW = 1.45–2.97, EL = 0.50–0.60, SL = 2.27–2.58, ML = 3.13–4.14, PW = 1.17–1.83, mTbL = 1.99–2.50, hTbL = 2.84–3.52 (n = 2).

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Large to very large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 1.556-1.810 (mean 1.649); HW: 0.952-1.127 (mean 1.008); SL: 1.950-2.060 (mean 2.021); EL: 0.381-0.444 (mean 0.409); ML: 2.47-2.74; MW: 0.93-1.06. Color. Head, mesosoma, petiolar scale, antennae and legs yellow, gaster bicolor, tergites yellow anteriorly and brown to black posteriorly, yellow can be only first tergite, or first two tergites, or in pale specimens also part of third tergite, sternites yellow; in intermediate workers as the body size increases, the head becomes darker, partly rusty yellow to rusty brown and mesosoma rusty yellow but gaster always yellow to rusty anteriorly. Head. Very elongate, 1.6-1.7 times as long as wide, sides in front of eyes straight and parallel, behind eyes regularly softly rounded, posterior margin rounded or in the middle straight. Clypeus pentagonal, in the middle forms rectangular plate protruding anterad, its anterior margin straight, simple, on sides anterior clypeal margin shallowly emarginate, sides of clypeus strongly converging posterad, straight, posterior margin straight but in the middle shallowly emarginate by frontal triangle, clypeal plate along middle with obtuse keel, whole surface with diffused microreticulation, surface strongly shiny, covered with sparse and short appressed hairs, anterior margin in the middle with 5-7 very long setae, on sides with few short additional setae, central plate with 3-4 pairs of erected setae, grouping on sides and base of clypeus. Head microreticulate, sculpture in posterior half and sides of head often tends to form transverse or circular striation, behind eyes microsculpture sometimes diffused, background strongly shiny, covered with sparse and short appressed pubescence, appears partly unhaired, frons along sides with row of 3-4 long erected setae, vertex and central part of occipitum with a pair of long erected setae, gena and sides of head lacking erected setae, ventral side of head with 2-6 moderately long to long erected setae. Scape very elongate, thin, 1.8-2.1 times as long as width of head, slightly, regularly widened from base to apex, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with short and sparse appressed pubescence. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment approximately 3.6 times as long as wide and 1.3-1.4 times as long as second segment, third segment distinctly longer than second, the rest of funicular segments very elongate. Eyes large, elongate oval, 0.25 length of head. Mandibles stout, diffusely microreticulate and punctate, surface shiny. Mesosoma. Elongate 2.5-2.7 times as long as wide, distinctly sculptured tending to form longitudinal, transverse and oblique striation, surface strongly shiny. In lateral view dorsum form regular arch, without mesonotal groove, propodeum never with shallow concavity, posteriorly very broadly rounded. Surface of mesosomal dorsum with short and scarce, hardly visible depressed hairs, laterally surface partly unhaired, pronotum with 2, mesonotum and propodeum with up to two erected setae, number of erected setae only slightly increases with the size of the specimen. Waist and gaster. Petiole in form of broad, very thick scale with convex anterior and flat posterior face, apex regularly rounded; surface with distinct transverse striation covered with short and sparse appressed hairs, apical crest with two long erected setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, tergites with fine transverse microstriation, interspaces without additional microsculpture thus surface of gaster appears strongly shiny, covered with short and scarce appressed hairs; first tergite with a pair of very long erected setae centrally and a row of 4 long setae close to posterior margin, two subsequent tergites with 2-4 long setae in front of the middle and similar row of 4-6 setae close to posterior margin, moderately elongate, appressed hairs on posterior margin of tergites very short, reaching to 1/3-1/2 length of the transparent margin. Legs. Elongate and thin, hind femora only slightly shorter than mesosoma, surface of legs covered with very sparse appressed hairs, inner margin of tibiae in apical 1/3 length with 2-6 thorns. Ventral surface of fore femora with 2-3 long erected setae.

Major workers: HL: 2.907-3.453 (mean 3.253); HW: 2.667-3.267 (mean 3.060); SL: 2.500-2.667 (mean 2.590); EL: 0.611-0.631 (mean 0.620); ML: 3.71-4.40; MW: 1.85-2.06. Head always dark colored, rusty brown to black, including mandibles, scapus mostly brown to black except pale base and apex, funicle from yellow to rusty yellow, mesosoma dorsally rusty brown, brown to black laterally gradually yellowish brown to yellow, petiole, coxa and femora yellow, tibiae and tarsi from rusty yellow to yellowish brown, first gastral tergite mostly to completely yellow, sternites yellow. Head stouter, approximately as long as wide, widest in basal ¼ length, sides softly rounded and converging anterad, posterior margin deeply concave; rectangular anterior plate of clypeus shallowly emarginate on sides thus anterior corners slightly angulated, central plate of clypeus head with 5-6 pairs of erected setae, gular area with 2-8 short to long erected setae. Scape proportionally shorter, 0.8-0.9 times as long as width of head. Eyes proportionally smaller, 0.19 length of head; mesosoma stouter, 2.0-2.2 times as long as wide, in profile forming more convex arch, propodeum with less obtusely posterior angle. Pronotum with 4-8, mesonotum 2-6, propodeum 3-5, petiolar crest 4-6 very long erected setae. Ventral surface of fore femora with 3-6 long erected setae.

Queen

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - body partly yellowish brown, head partly or completely yellowish.

Male

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - head and mesosoma mostly yellow, gaster yellowish-brown.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
  • Aktaç, N. "Studies on the myrmecofauna of Turkey I. Ants of Siirt, Bodrum and Trabzon." Istanbul Universitesi Fen Fakultesi Mecmuasi. Seri B 41 (1977): 115-135.
  • Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
  • Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
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  • Ghahari H., and C. A. Collingwood. 2013. A study on the ants (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Formicidae) from Western Iran. Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica Hungarica 48 (1): 155–164.
  • Hamann H. H. F., and W. Klemm. 1976. Ergebnisse der von Dr. O. Paget und Dr. E. Kritscher auf Rhodos durchgeführten zoologischen Exkursionen. XVI. Formicidae. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien 80: 669-679.
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  • Legakis Collection Database
  • Menozzi C. 1929. Ricerche faunistiche nelle isole italiane dell'Egeo. Imenotteri (formiche). Archivio Zoologico Italiano. 13: 145-146.
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  • Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.