Camponotus nitidior

Camponotus nitidior
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Camponotus
Species:	C. nitidior
Binomial name
Camponotus nitidior (Santschi, 1921) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Dendromyrmex fabricii isthmicus Weber, 1943

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 19.5166667° to -0.6364°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama (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

This species builds nests of sewn-together leaves (Wilson 1981, Fernández 2002). They use larval silk to attach leaves together and to make silk sheets and baffles. The nest walls are a combination of leaves and silk sheets. The silk sheets and baffles are a combination of silk and masticated plant fibers. (Taken from John Longino's Ants of Costa Rica http://academic.evergreen.edu/projects/ants/AntsofCostaRica.html)

Flight muscle ratio (ratio of wing muscle mass to body mass, i.e. a predictor of flight ability) for C. nitidior queens suggests that they found colonies non-claustrally (Helms & Kaspari 2015). Moreover, fat content in the abdomen was low. This strategy of independent foundation needs to be confirmed with field observations, and it would be exceptional in this genus. Non-claustral foundation is similarly predicted by the large relative size of the prothorax (see Antweb image below), which probably reflects worker-like neck muscles needed for foraging (Keller et al. 2014).

Castes

Major workers absent

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0280324. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.

Syntype of Camponotus nitidior. Worker. Specimen code casent0912084. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.

Worker. Specimen code inbiocri002281550. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by JTLC.

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code inbiocri002281554. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by JTLC.

Male (alate). Specimen code inbiocri002281555. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by JTLC.

Nomenclature

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

• nitidior. Dendromyrmex fabricii subsp. nitidior Santschi, 1921g: 102 (w.) PANAMA.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Panama: Bugaba (Champion).
  • Type-depository: NHMB (perhaps also BMNH).
  • Fernández, 2002: 76 (m.).
  • Combination in Camponotus (Dendromyrmex): Fernández, 2002: 71.
  • Subspecies of fabricii: Emery, 1925b: 174; Kempf, 1972a: 96; Bolton, 1995b: 169.
  • Status as species: Fernández, 2002: 71 (redescription); Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 256; Mackay & Mackay, 2019: 764.
  • Senior synonym of isthmicus: Fernández, 2002: 71.
  • Distribution: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama.
• isthmicus. Dendromyrmex fabricii subsp. isthmicus Weber, 1943b: 76 (q.) PANAMA (Barro Colorado I.).
  • Type-material: 2 syntype queens.
  • Type-locality: Panama: Canal Zone, Barro Colorado I., 29.vi.1938, nos 887, 897 (W.M. Mann).
  • Type-depository: MCZC.
  • Subspecies of fabricii: Kempf, 1972a: 96; Bolton, 1995b: 169.
  • Junior synonym of nitidior: Fernández, 2002: 71.

References

• Fernández, F. 2002. Revisión de las hormigas Camponotus subgénero Dendromyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pap. Avulsos Zool. (São Paulo) 42: 47-101 (page 71, Combination in C. (Dendromyrmex) , raised to species and senior synonym of isthmicus)
• Helms JA, Kaspari M (2015) Reproduction-dispersal tradeoffs in ant queens. Insectes Soc. 62: 171–181.
• Santschi, F. 1921g. Ponerinae, Dorylinae et quelques autres formicides néotropiques. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 54: 81-103 (page 102, worker described)
• Wilson, E. O. 1981. Communal silk-spinning by larvae of Dendromyrmex tree-ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux 28:182-190.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
• Branstetter M. G. and L. Sáenz. 2012. Las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Guatemala. Pp. 221-268 in: Cano E. B. and J. C. Schuster. (eds.) 2012. Biodiversidad de Guatemala. Volumen 2. Guatemala: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, iv + 328 pp
• Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
• Fernández F. 2002. Revisión de las hormigas Camponotus subgénero Dendromyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo). 42: 47-101.
• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
• INBio Collection (via Gbif)
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Honduras. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-honduras
• Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
• Longino J. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
• Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
• Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
• Rocha-Ortega M., and M. E. Favila. 2013. The recovery of ground ant diversity in secondary Lacandon tropical forests. Journal of Insect Conservation 17(6): 1161-1167.
• Ryder Wilkie K.T., A. L. Mertl, and J. F. A. Traniello. 2010. Species Diversity and Distribution Patterns of the Ants of Amazonian Ecuador. PLoS ONE 5(10): e13146.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013146
• Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
• Weber N. A. 1943. New ants from Venezuela and neighboring countries. Bol. Entomol. Venez. 2: 67-78.
• Weber N. A. 1944. The tree ants (Dendromyrmex) of South and Central America. Ecology 25: 117-120.