Camponotus laconicus

Camponotus laconicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Camponotus
Subgenus:	Tanaemyrmex
Species complex:	samius
Species:	C. laconicus
Binomial name
	Camponotus laconicus; Emery, 1920 Specimen Labels

Camponotus laconicus is a rare, thermophilous species endemic to Greece. Most records are from warm, dry pine forests. It has also been found in Mediterranean shrubs along roadsides and stream valleys or gorges with plane trees. Nests are always under large stones, often on the sunny and arid edges of forests as well as in urban areas and on sunny roadsides inside mixed and fir forests. All collecting sites were at low and mid altitude, from 4 to 910 m. Workers are active mainly at dawn. (Borowiec & Salata 2021, 2022).

Identification

A member of the Camponotus samius species complex (Tanaemyrmex).

Salata et al. (2020) - Hind tibia and scape with decumbent to suberect pilosity but without additional erect setae; gena with numerous erect setae; mesosoma, head, and gaster in major and minor workers uniformly black; sometimes legs in minor workers partly reddish brown; gaster in major and minor workers without brighter colouration on its basal part; pilosity on gaster sparse and thin, distance between microsetae is equal to full lengths of microsetae, erect setae very dense; petiolar squama in major workers stout with distinctly convex anterior surface, in minor workers triangular in profile.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 38.62406° to 35.270116°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Greece (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

Castes

Worker

Salata, Khalili-Moghadam & Borowiec 2020. Figures 22-23. Camponotus laconicus 22: major worker; 23: minor worker.

Salata, Khalili-Moghadam & Borowiec 2020. Figures 13-14. Camponotus laconicus 13: major worker; 14: minor worker; scale bars = 2mm.

Salata, Khalili-Moghadam, and Borowiec 2020. Figure 10. Petiolar scale.

Nomenclature

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

laconicus. Camponotus (Myrmoturba) samius var. laconicus Emery, 1920c: 6.
- [First available use of Camponotus maculatus subsp. samius var. laconica Emery, 1908a: 192 (s.w.) GREECE; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
- Type-material: syntype major and minor workers (numbers not stated).
- Type-locality: Greece: S Morea (no collector’s name).
- [Note: Salata, Khalili-Moghadam, et al. 2020: 554, give syntype data as Greece: Kambos, Taygetos, v.1901 (Holz).]
- Type-depositories: MHNG, MSNG.
- Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 100.
- As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Forel, 1911d: 359.
- Junior synonym of festai: Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, 2014: 138 (error).
- Subspecies of samius: Emery, 1925b: 100.
- Status as species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 284 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 107; Petrov, 2006: 109 (in key); Legakis, 2011: 31; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 477; Borowiec, L. 2014: 35; Lebas, et al. 2016: 154; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 44; Salata, Khalili-Moghadam, et al. 2020: 554; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2022: 125.
- Distribution: Greece.

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

Description

Worker

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Moderately large to large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 2.050-2.317 (mean 2.156); HW: 1.220-1.480 (mean 1.325); SL: 2.460-2.617 (mean 2.528); EL: 0.492- 0.576 (mean 0.519); ML: 3.23-3.55; MW: 1.28-1.46. Color. Body predominantly black, mesosoma and petiolar scale sometimes brown, in the palest pale specimens pronotum brown dorsally and yellowish brown laterally and clypeus partly yellowish brown; antenna scapus usually black, occasionally brown, funiculus mostly yellow to rusty yellow, first segment of funicle always partly or mostly infuscate to black, coxa yellowish brown to dark brown, femora and tibiae brown to black, tarsi yellowish brown to dark brown, gaster with whitish yellow posterior margin. 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, slightly crenulate, on sides anterior clypeal margin moderately 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 distinct obtuse keel, whole surface distinctly microreticulated, surface indistinctly shiny, covered with sparse and moderately long subdecumbent hairs, anterior margin in the middle with 6-8 very long setae, on sides with few short additional setae, central plate with numerous moderately long and long erected setae. Head distinctly microreticulate, sculpture in posterior half and sides of head tends to form transverse or circular striation, background from slightly dull to slightly shiny, covered with sparse and short appressed to subdecumbent pubescence, whole surface including gena, sides of head and occipitum with numerous moderately long to long erected setae, ventral side of head with several 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, slightly dull, with moderately long sparse, in basal third subdecumbent, in apical 2/3 length suberect pubescence. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment approximately 3.7 times as long as wide and 1.2-1.3 times as long as second segment, third segment slightly longer than second, the rest of funicular segments very elongate. Eyes large, elongate oval, 0.24 length of head. Mandibles stout, microreticulate and punctate, surface slightly shiny to slightly dull. Mesosoma. Elongate 2.4-2.6 times as long as wide, dorsally and laterally distinctly sculptured , tending to form longitudinal, transverse and oblique striation and partly also microreticulation, surface indistinctly shiny. In lateral view dorsum form relatively regular arch, without mesonotal groove, propodeum never with shallow concavity, posterior face broadly rounded. Surface of mesosomal dorsum with short and scarce, depressed to decumbent hairs, lateral sides partly unhaired, pronotum and mesonotum with numerous, usually more than 15, propodeum 10-18 very long erected setae, number of erected setae increases with the size of the ant. Waist and gaster. Petiole in form of broad, 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 4-8 very long erected setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, tergites with transverse microstriation, interspaces with diffused additional microsculpture thus surface of gaster appears indistinctly shiny, covered with moderately long and scarce appressed hairs; all tergites with several very long erected setae, row of setae on posterior margin composed with elongate hairs, mostly reaching behind transparent margin. Legs. Long and thin, hind femora only slightly shorter than mesosoma, surface of legs covered with sparse, moderately elongate decumbent to semierect hairs, inner margin of tibiae in apical half with row of thorns. Ventral surface of fore femora with 10-15 long erected setae.

Major workers: HL: 3.317-3.550 (mean 3.464); HW: 2.967-3.200 (mean 3.088); SL: 3.003-3.167 (mean 3.088); EL: 0.692-0.763 (mean 0.721); ML: 4.33-4.70; MW: 2.07-2.13. In body color and sculpture similar to minor workers but surface duller than in minor workers, especially on head. Head stouter, approximately 1.1 times as long as wide, widest in half length, sides softly rounded and converging anterad, posterior margin concave; anterior margin of clypeus distinctly crenulate, central plate of clypeus head with more numerous erected setae, gular area with more than 20 short to long erected setae. Scape proportionally shorter, approximately as long as width of head. Eyes proportionally smaller, 0.21 length of head; mesosoma stouter, 2.0-2.2 times as long as wide, in profile forming more convex arch. Setation of all mesosomal parts more numerous, dense. Ventral surface of fore femora with up to 17 long erected setae.

Queen

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - body predominantly brown to brownish black.

Type Material

Salata et al. (2020) - Syntype major and minor workers, Taygetos, Kambos, Greece, v.1901, coll. Holz (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève). Syntype major and minor workers images examined, AntWeb, CASENT0905288 and CASENT0905289, photos by Will Ericson.

References

Agosti, D.; Collingwood, C. A. 1987a. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 60: 51-62 (page 58, Raised to species)
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., Salata, S. 2021. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Western Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 30: 1-23 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.5571258).
Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. A monographic review of ants of Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Vol. 1. Introduction and review of all subfamilies except the subfamily Myrmicinae. Part 1: text. Natural History Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum 1: 1-297.
Emery, C. 1920d. Studi sui Camponotus. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 52: 3-48 (page 6, soldier, worker described)
Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 100, Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex))
Salata, S., Khalili-Moghadam, A., Borowiec, L. 2020. Review of the Camponotus samius complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Turano-Balkan region, with the description of a new species from Iran. Zootaxa 4763(4): 545–562 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4763.4.5).

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
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.
Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
Forel A. 1911. Fourmis nouvelles ou intéressantes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 47: 331-400.
Legakis Collection Database
Salata S., and L Borowiec. 2017. Species of Tetramorium semilaeve complex from Balkans and western Turkey, with description of two new species of (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 62:279–313.
Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2019. Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys 877: 81-131.