Camponotus consobrinus

Camponotus consobrinus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Camponotus
Species:	C. consobrinus
Binomial name
Camponotus consobrinus (Erichson, 1842) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Camponotus dimidiatus Roger, 1863 Camponotus nigriceps obniger Forel, 1902

A ground nesting species that recruits via tandem running. Alate specimens at SAMA indicate that nuptial flights occurred near Adelaide on 20 January 1991 and 21 January 1992.

At a Glance

• Tandem running

Photo Gallery

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  Tending a scale insect on a Eucalyptus trunk.
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  Returning to the nest with prey.
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  The enlarged gaster of this worker is the result of collecting honeydew while foraging on trees.
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  Workers tandem running to a food source in a large Eucalyptus approximately 15m from their nest.
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  These ants are ground nesting, often forming large mounds of loose soil around the entrance. Here, a queen ventures outside the nest, preparing for her nuptial flight.
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  Camponotus consobrinus nest in damp soil. South Australia. Photo by A.J.McArthur.

Identification

A member of the Camponotus nigriceps species group. McArthur and Adams (1996) - Distinctly polymorphic. Maximum frequency of head widths in minor workers occurs at about 1.75 mm, in medium workers at about 2.8 mm and in major workers at about 3.25 mm. The relationship between log HW and Jog HL is practically linear. Major workers, whose role is to defend the nest, have developed large muscles attached to their mandibles. Thus, major workers possess disproportionately wide heads (Huxley 1936). Some populations of dark coloured C. consobrinus possess suberect pubescence on tibiae.

C. consobrinus, Camponotus loweryi and Camponotus longideclivis always lack setae on the gula and they may be distinguished as follows. C. loweryi major workers (maximum HW = 4·3 mm) are larger than C. consobrinus (maximum HW = 3·6 mm) and C. longideclivis (maximum HW = 3·7 mrn). Gaster colour in C. loweryi shows little variation from posterior to anterior whereas C. consobrinus is distinctly bicoloured. In Mallee areas, C. consobrinus, C. loweryi, Camponotus clarior and Camponotus nigriceps are sympatric. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, C. consobrinus and Camponotus pallidiceps are sympatric. In the north-east of New South Wales C. consobrinus and Camponotus eastwoodi are sympatric.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Camponotus species

Distribution

McArthur and Adams (1996) - The known distribution is confined to south-eastern and eastern Australia. There is a single pinned specimen of C. consobrinus in ANIC labelled 'Perth. John Clark'. We await other finds before including it in our distribution map of this species.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -21.14121° to -42.9053°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Biology

Genetics

Crozier et al. (1999) identified polymorphic microsatellite markers and used these to study mutation. The abstract of their study: "Five highly polymorphic (GA)n microsatellite loci are reported for the formicine ant Camponotus consobrinus. The occurrence of many nests with a simple family structure enabled a search for new mutations, 11 of which were found from 3,055 informative typings. These mutations were not randomly distributed across loci, 10 of them occurring at the locus Ccon70. The spectrum of mutations across alleles at Ccon70 was also non-random, with all of them occuring in alleles in the upper half of the allele size distribution. The mutations observed fit the Stepwise Mutation Model well, ie, mutations could always be assigned to an allele which differed in size from them by one repeat unit. The parental origins of the Ccon70 mutations were established and appear more female-biased than vertebrate mutations, significantly so compared to human haemophilia A and primate intron mutations. Six of the Ccon70 mutations decreased allele size. This result may indicate that the lack of meiosis in males (which are haploid in ants) reduces the mutation rate in that sex relative to species with both sexes diploid."

Association with Other Organisms

 Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Nematode

• This species is a host for the nematode Mermithidae (unspecified "Mermix") (a parasite) in Australia (NSW) (Wheeler, 1933; Laciny, 2021).

Flight Period

											X
Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

• Check details at Worldwide Ant Nuptial Flights Data, AntNupTracker and AntKeeping.

 Explore: Show all Flight Month data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0280193. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.

Worker. Specimen code casent0280194. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.

Syntype of Camponotus nigriceps obniger. Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0905236. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Syntype of Camponotus nigriceps obniger. Worker. Specimen code casent0905237. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Syntype of Camponotus nigriceps obniger. Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0910307. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Syntype of Camponotus nigriceps obniger. Worker. Specimen code casent0910308. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

• consobrinus. Formica consobrina Erichson, 1842: 258 (q.) AUSTRALIA (Tasmania).
  • Type-material: holotype queen.
  • Type-locality: Australia (“New Holland”): Tasmania (“Vandiemensland”) (A. Schayer).
  • Type-depository: MNHU.
  • Smith, F. 1858b: 41 (w.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 346 (k.).
  • Combination in Camponotus: Roger, 1863b: 4;
  • combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 22.
  • Status as species: Smith, F. 1858b: 41; Mayr, 1863: 413; Roger, 1863b: 4; Lowne, 1865a: 277; Dalla Torre, 1893: 226; Emery, 1896d: 378 (in list); Emery, 1925b: 171; Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 22; Clark, 1934c: 70; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 112; Taylor, 1987a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 94; Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 122; McArthur, 2007a: 306; McArthur, 2010: 36; McArthur, 2014: 62.
  • Senior synonym of dimidiatus: Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 23; Clark, 1934c: 70; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 112; Bolton, 1995b: 94; Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 122; McArthur & Adams, 1996: 22; McArthur, 2007a: 294; McArthur, 2010: 36.
  • Senior synonym of obniger: McArthur & Adams, 1996: 22; McArthur, 2007a: 294; McArthur, 2010: 36.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• dimidiatus. Camponotus dimidiatus Roger, 1863b: 4, 44 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (Tasmania).
  • Type-material: syntype worker(s), syntype queen(s) (numbers not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia (“New Holland”): Tasmania (“Vandiemensland”) (no collector’s name).
  • Type-depository: MNHU.
  • Combination in C. (Myrmoturba): Forel, 1913g: 181;
  • combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 103.
  • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1896d: 372 (in list).
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1865: 30.
  • Junior synonym of nigriceps: Mayr, 1876: 63.
  • Subspecies of nigriceps: Emery, 1887a: 211; Dalla Torre, 1893: 244; Forel, 1907h: 301; Stitz, 1911a: 372; Forel, 1913g: 191; Emery, 1914b: 180; Forel, 1915b: 97; Crawley, 1922c: 35; Emery, 1925b: 103.
  • Junior synonym of consobrinus: Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 23; Clark, 1934c: 70; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 112; Bolton, 1995b: 96; Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 122; McArthur & Adams, 1996: 22; McArthur, 2007a: 294; McArthur, 2010: 36.
• obniger. Camponotus nigriceps r. obniger Forel, 1902h: 506 (s.w.) AUSTRALIA (South Australia).
  • Type-material: syntype major and minor workers (numbers not stated).
  • [Note: McArthur & Adams, 1996: 22, cite major and minor worker syntypes, “6 types and many cotypes” MHNG.]
  • Type-locality: Australia: South Australia (no collector’s name).
  • Type-depositories: ANIC, MHNG.
  • Forel, 1910b: 72 (q.).
  • Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 103.
  • Subspecies of consobrinus: Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 23; Clark, 1934c: 71.
  • Subspecies of nigriceps: Forel, 1907h: 301; Forel, 1910b: 72; Emery, 1914b: 180; Emery, 1925b: 103; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 117; Taylor, 1987a: 14; Bolton, 1995b: 114.
  • Junior synonym of consobrinus: McArthur & Adams, 1996: 22; McArthur, 2007a: 294; McArthur, 2010: 36.

Type Material

• Camponotus dimidiatus Roger, 1863: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), Australia (as New Holland) and Tasmania (as Vandiemensland), Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Camponotus dimidiatus Roger, 1863: Syntype, queen, Tasmania (as Vandiemensland), Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität.
• Camponotus nigriceps obniger Forel, 1902: Syntype, worker(s), South Australia, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Formica consobrina Erichson, 1842: Holotype, queen, Tasmania, Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität.

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

Description

Black,shining head dark sides of the thorax and legs ferruginous.

Female. Length 6 lines (12.5 mm). Close to C herculaneus. Antennae scape black. Head is just wider than thorax. Black,opaque above, sparingly punctated obsoletely, finely grooved between the median ridges, two carinae between the antennae, carinae slightly bow shaped. Mandibles and palps black. Thorax oblong, somewhat compressed, smooth dorsal part of the notum with scattered punctures. Node subovate, front and back flat, ferruginous. Gaster with sparse and fine punctations, pilosity scarce. Black and shining, forepart is ferruginous. Wings are dark, stigmata and nerves are yellow. Differs from C.herculaneus by the less upright stature, dark head black border, thorax longer, dorsal metathorax black, gaster scarcely punctated, feet completely reddish.

McArthur and Adams (1996) - Colour: head black to red brown; mesosoma, node black to yellow including orange; anterior gaster lighter than posterior, posterior gaster usuall near colour of head. Pilosity always absent on gula; setae erect slightly forward pointing. 0.3-0.5 mm long on mesosoma dorsum, 3-10 on propodeum (Fig. 15 a, b), 5-20 on mesonotum, 15-30 on pronotum, plentiful on gaster pointing backward; on head and mandibles more erect and shorter, not plentiful. Short setae on scapes raised to an inclination of up to 20° when viewed from front. Short setae on midtibiae: inclination 5-40°. Pubescence(= short setae, length always < 0.2 mm) on head and mesosoma adpressed, spacing > setae length. Integument: glossy finely reticulate, front of head with shallow sparse punctation. Node summit viewed from the rear: straight or convex (Fig. 12b), occasionally slightly concave in largest majors.

HW = 1.30-3.30 mm; HL = 1.75-3.40 mm; n = 261. TL = 2.95-3.00 mm; n = 49. TL = 1.9 + 1.87 log HW (n = 49, r = 0.93, s.e.(y). = 0.07, s.e.(x)., = 0.07). PD:D = 1.3 in major workers increasing to 3.0 in minor workers.

Karyotype

• See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• n = 23, 2n = 46 (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977).

Etymology

McArthur and Adams (1996) - Consobrina (Latin: cousin). Erichson (1842) recognised some similarity of this species to Formica herculaneus.

References

• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• Clark, J. 1934c. Ants from the Otway Ranges. Mem. Natl. Mus. Vic. 8: 48-73 (page 70, senior synonym of dimidiatus)
• Crozier, R. H., B. E. Kaufmann, M. E. Carew, and Y. C. Crozier. 1999. Mutability of microsatellites developed for the ant Camponotus consobrinus. Molecular Ecology. 8(2):271-276. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.1999.00565.x
• Erichson, W. F. 1842. Beitrag zur Insecten-Fauna von Vandiemensland, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der geographischen Verbreitung der Insecten. Arch. Naturgesch. 8 (1): 83-287 (page 258, queen described)
• Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 346, karyotype described)
• Kaur, R., Joseph, J., Anoop, K., Sumana, A. 2017. Characterization of recruitment through tandem running in an Indian queenless ant Diacamma indicum. Royal Society Open Science 41, 160476 (doi:10.1098/rsos.160476).
• McArthur, A. J. and M. Adams. 1996. A morphological and molecular revision of the Camponotus nigriceps group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Australia. Invertebrate Taxonomy. 10:1-46. (page 22, Senior synonym of obniger)
• Narendra, A., Ramirez-Esquivel, F., Ribi, W.A. 2016. Compound eye and ocellar structure for walking and flying modes of locomotion in the Australian ant, Camponotus consobrinus. Scientific Reports 6, 22331 (doi:10.1038/srep22331).
• Reznikova, Z. 2020. Spatial cognition in the context of foraging styles and information transfer in ants. Animal Cognition. (doi:10.1007/s10071-020-01423-x).
• Roger, J. 1863b. Verzeichniss der Formiciden-Gattungen und Arten. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7(B Beilage: 1-65 (page 4, combination in Camponotus)
• Schultheiss, P., Raderschall, C. A., Narendra, A. 2015. Follower ants in a tandem pair are not always naïve. Scientific Reports 5: 10747 (doi:10.1038/srep10747).
• Silva, J. P., Valadares, L., Vieira, M. E. L., Teseo, S., Châline, N. 2021. Tandem running by foraging Pachycondyla striata workers in field conditions vary in response to food type, food distance, and environmental conditions. Current Zoology 67(5), 541–549 (doi:10.1093/cz/zoab050).
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 41, worker described)
• Tschinkel, W.R., Mikheyev, A.S., Storz, S.R. 2003. Allometry of workers of the fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Journal of Insect Science 3(2): 1–11 (doi:10.1673/031.003.0201).
• Wheeler, W.M. 1933b. Mermis parasitism in some Australian and Mexican ants. Psyche (Camb.) 40: 20-31 (page 22, combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex); page 23, senior synonym of dimidiatus)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Emery C. 1886. Saggio di un catalogo sistematico dei generi Camponotus, Polyrhachis e affini. Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna 5: 363-382
• Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia. [part]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 24(4): 209-258.
• Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 4, no. 24 (1887): 209-258.
• Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195
• Gibson L. A., and T. R. New. 2007. Characterising insect diversity on Australia's remant native grasslands: ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and beetles (Coleoptera) at Craigieburn Grasslands Reserve, Victoria. Journal of Insect Conservation 11: 409-413.
• Mann V. 2013. Using insect biodiversity to measure the effectiveness of on-farm restoration plantings. Master of Environmental Management at the School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania 111 pages.
• McArthur A. 2010. A guide to Camponotus ants of South Australia. Adelaide: South Australian Museum, IV + 121 pp.
• McArthur A. J., and M. Adams. 1996. A morphological and molecular revision of the Camponotus nigriceps group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Australia. Invertebr. Taxon. 10: 1-46.
• Shattuck S. O., and A. J. McArthur. 1995. Generic placements of Australian ants described by W. F. Erichson (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 34: 121-123.
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149. 
• Vieira de Oliveira J. A., D. Martins da Silva, and F. A. Santana. 2014. Ant species diversity in ciliary forest and gallery forest areas in central Brazil. Advances in Entomology 2(1): 24-32.
• Wheeler W. M. 1933. Mermis parasitism in some Australian and Mexican ants. Psyche (Cambridge) 40: 20-31.