Crematogaster nigropilosa

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Crematogaster nigropilosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Crematogaster
Species: C. nigropilosa
Binomial name
Crematogaster nigropilosa
Mayr, 1870

Crematogaster nigropilosa casent0173945 profile 1.jpg

Crematogaster nigropilosa casent0173945 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

A wide ranging neotropical Crematogaster that can be found in a wide range of habitats.

Identification

Longino (2003) - The combination of very long, divergent propodeal spines and appressed tibial setae uniquely identify this species. Crematogaster longispina has similar large spines, but the pilosity on the tibiae is erect.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Nicaragua to Bolivia, Brazil.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 25.68015° to -64.23°.

       
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia (type locality), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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.
pChart


Biology

Longino (2003) - Crematogaster nigropilosa occurs in a wide variety of habitats and elevations, with the exception of extremely dry areas. It is common in low to mid elevation rainforests, and may be found in moist microhabitats in seasonally dry areas. Although most abundant at low to middle elevations, it also can occur at high elevation cloud forest sites where virtually no other ants are found. I collected a worker in a Winkler sample at 2400m elevation on Volcan Barva in Costa Rica, and Peck collected the species at 2600m in Chiriquí province, Panama.

Nests are often in soft bits of dead wood or small hollow plant stems. The nests are usually on the forest floor or within a few meters of the forest floor in shaded areas and understory. I have also seen nests in rotten stumps, in chambers in rotting walls of abandoned houses in rainforest, and occasionally in internodes of Cecropia saplings. Nests contain a worker population ranging from a few dozen to about 300. Ergatogynes are very common. Nests exhibit a range of reproductive structures. Some have a standard complement of workers, brood, and one colony queen. Others have the colony queen plus one or more ergatogynes. An example is a colony I collected in its entirety from two adjacent internodes of a Cecropia sapling. The colony contained one dealate queen, 28 alate queens, 11 adult males, 13 ergatogynes, 324 workers, and brood. Nests may be queenless, containing only workers, brood, and one or more ergatogynes. Often these queenless nests appear to be the only nest in the vicinity, with no indication of being part of a polydomous colony. Although most of the nests I have observed have been monogynous or lacking a queen, one nest collection from Venezuela was polygynous. A lab colony kept for about one year was comprised of workers and one ergatogyne. The colony continually produced males as the worker population gradually declined to extinction. Thus a queenless colony fragment is at least able to produce males.

Foragers may be found day or night. They occur on extrafloral nectaries and have been taken at tuna baits on the ground.

DaRocha et al. (2015) studied the diversity of ants found in bromeliads of a single large tree of Erythrina, a common cocoa shade tree, at an agricultural research center in Ilhéus, Brazil. Forty-seven species of ants were found in 36 of 52 the bromeliads examined. Bromeliads with suspended soil and those that were larger had higher ant diversity. Crematogaster nigropilosa was found in 5 different bromeliads but was associated with twigs and bark cavities, rather than suspended soil or litter, of the plants.

Rosumek (2017) found this species was a diurnal forager in a southeastern Brazil Atlantic forest.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Crematogaster nigropilosa casent0173945 profile 2.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173945. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by ALWC, Alex L. Wild Collection.

Nomenclature

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

  • nigropilosa. Crematogaster nigropilosa Mayr, 1870a: 405 (w.) COLOMBIA (“New Granada”).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Colombia (“New Granada”): Santa Fé de Bogotá (Lindig).
    • Type-depository: NHMW.
    • Mayr, 1887: 624 (q.); Morgan & Mackay, 2017: 283 (m.).
    • Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Emery, 1922e: 136.
    • Status as species: Mayr, 1870b: 991 (in key); Mayr, 1887: 624; Emery, 1890a: 66; Dalla Torre, 1893: 84; Forel, 1895b: 131; Forel, 1899c: 83; Forel, 1905b: 159; Forel, 1912f: 218; Emery, 1922e: 136; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 26; Borgmeier, 1927c: 95; Menozzi, 1927c: 267; Kempf, 1972a: 88; Bolton, 1995b: 158; Longino, 2003a: 94 (redescription); Wild, 2007b: 32; Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 258; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 117; Morgan & Mackay, 2017: 280 (redescription); Pedraza & Fernández, 2019: 896.
    • Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru.

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

Description

Worker

Longino (2003) - (Costa Rica) HL 0.716, 0.631, 0.814; HW 0.747, 0.653, 0.864; HC 0.680, 0.606, 0.810; SL 0.848, 0.709, 0.958; EL 0.160, 0.160, 0.182; A11L 0.334; A11W 0.124; A10L 0.171; A10W 0.113; A09L 0.081; A09W 0.080; A08L 0.070; A08W 0.067; WL 0.904, 0.731, 1.078; SPL 0.332, 0.242, 0.318; PTH 0.227, 0.158, 0.258; PTL 0.384, 0.301, 0.394; PTW 0.202, 0.154, 0.240; PPL 0.248, 0.178, 0.243; PPW 0.235, 0.199, 0.302; CI 104, 103, 106; OI 22, 25, 22; SI 118, 112, 118; PTHI 59, 53, 65; PTWI 53, 51, 61; PPI 95, 112, 124; SPI 37, 33, 29; ACI 1.60.

Color dark red brown to black.

Mandibles smooth and shiny; in full face view anterior margin of clypeus weakly convex; clypeus convex, shiny, with 4-5 thin longitudinal carinulae; face smooth and shiny; scapes with longitudinal carinulae and faint etching, subopaque, with a combination of abundant subdecumbent setae and abundant long erect setae, erect setae much longer than width of scape; terminal 4-5 segments of antenna gradually lengthening to form club, becoming increasingly densely pubescent, terminal two segments the largest and most conspicuous; face with abundant erect amber to black setae, often forming a dense brush on face; in full face view with a crown of dark setae projecting from sides and posterior margin of head posterior to eyes, sparse short curved setae projecting from sides of head anterior to eyes; ventral surface of head with sparse suberect setae.

In lateral view, pronotum rising above anterior collar to gently convex dorsal surface, mesonotum flat, strongly sloping, with anteriorly raised boss and well developed anterolateral tubercles, relatively long such that pronotum elevated above propodeum; propodeal suture deep medially, appearing shallow in lateral view because of pronounced lateral carinae that bridge suture; dorsal face of propodeum horizontal, well differentiated from and about as long as sloping posterior face; propodeal spines very large, broadly triangular at base, gradually tapering to outermost seta, beyond which spine more abruptly tapers to long, acute tip (size of spine beyond outermost seta highly variable); side of pronotum smooth and shiny; anepisternum smooth and shiny; katepisternum smooth and shiny medially, with microareolate sculpture around margins; side of propodeum smooth and shiny dorsally, faintly rugulose and microareolate ventrally; pronotal dorsum with about 7 thin longitudinal carinulae, interspaces smooth and shining; mesonotum with strong lateral carinae, converging posteriorly, medial space smooth and shining; dorsal face of propodeum with carinulae that are longitudinal anteriorly, sweep outward onto bases of propodeal spines, several curved transverse carinulae between spines at juncture of dorsal and posterior faces (specimens from the Osa Peninsula have weaker sculpture overall, pronotal carinulae nearly absent, dorsal and lateral faces of propodeum largely smooth and shining); posterior face smooth and shining; setae on mesosomal dorsum long, stout, blackish, on average 4 on anterior pronotum, 2 on anterior mesonotum, 2 (shorter) on posterior mesonotum, 2 on base of each propodeal spine, with variation of plus or minus a seta at each position; legs with abundant suberect pubescence/short pilosity, no long erect setae.

Petiole in side view trapezoidal, smooth and shiny or with faint microareolate sculpture; anteroventral tooth small but usually distinct, forming a right to obtuse angle; dorsal face elongate, tapering anteriorly, smooth and shiny or faintly microaerolate, with two long dark setae on each posterolateral tubercle; postpetiole with no ventral tooth, postpetiole in dorsal view globular, well separated from petiole by cylindrical anterior peduncle; fourth abdominal tergite smooth and shining; postpetiole and fourth abdominal tergite with abundant long erect dark setae.

Queen

Longino (2003) - (Costa Rica) A normal queen (dorsal face of propodeum drops steeply from postscutellum and much of propodeum appears ventral to scutellum and postscutellum); head pilosity and sculpture characters as in worker; terminal 4 segments of antenna gradually enlarging to form club, the last two largest and most conspicuous; pronotal dorsum short, perpendicular, forming curving obtuse to sharp right angle with anterior collar, recessed beneath bulging mesonotum; propodeal spine broadly conical, short, with acute tip, 0-1 setae on side of propodeum anterior to spine; dorsal mesonotum and scutellum with abundant erect setae; tibiae with scattered long erect setae (in contrast to workers); petiole in lateral view similar to worker but more robust, shorter and taller; dorsal face of petiole subquadrate, sides straight to slightly convex, longer than wide, abruptly constricted anteriorly to narrow peduncle; postpetiole with no ventral tooth, in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, wider than long, widest anteriorly; postpetiole with abundant long setae of variable length; fourth abdominal tergite with even vestiture of abundant, stiff, moderate length erect setae; size characters as in Figures.

Type Material

Longino (2003) - Syntype workers: Colombia, Santa Fé de Bogotá (Lindig) Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna (examined).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Alonso L. E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams. 2016. Biodiversity assessment survey of the south Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No.1, 306 pages.
  • Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
  • Davidson D. W., S. C. Cook, R. R. Snelling and T. H. Chua. 2003. Explaining the Abundance of Ants in Lowland Tropical Rainforest Canopies. Science 300: 969-972.
  • De la Mora, A., C. J. Murnen, and S. M. Philpott. 2013. Local and landscape drivers of ant-communities in Neotropical coffee landscapes. Biodiversity and Conservation 22: 871-888.
  • Emery C. 1890. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887 - Avril 1888). Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (6)10: 55-76.
  • Fernandes I., and J. de Souza. 2018. Dataset of long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the influence areas of a hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24375.
  • Fernández F., E. E. Palacio, W. P. Mackay, and E. S. MacKay. 1996. Introducción al estudio de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Colombia. Pp. 349-412 in: Andrade M. G., G. Amat García, and F. Fernández. (eds.) 1996. Insectos de Colombia. Estudios escogidos. Bogotá: Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 541 pp
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
  • Groc S., J. Orivel, A. Dejean, J. Martin, M. Etienne, B. Corbara, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2009. Baseline study of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a French Guianese forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity 2: 183-193.
  • INBio Collection (via Gbif)
  • Ilha C., J. A. Lutinski, D. Von Muller Pereira, F. R. Mello Garcia. 2009. Riqueza de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Bacia da Sanga Caramuru, municipio de Chapeco-SC. Biotemas 22(4): 95-105.
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Larsen, A., and S. M. Philpott. 2010. Twig-nesting ants: the hidden predators of the coffee berry borer in Chiapas, Mexico. Biotropica 42: 342-347.
  • Lattke J. E., and M. A Riera-Valera. 2012. Diversidad de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) en la hojarasca y suelo de selvas nubladas de la Cordillera de la Costa, Venezuela. Métodos en Ecología y Sistemática 7(1): 20-34.
  • 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. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
  • 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. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
  • Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
  • Longino, J.T. 2003. The Crematogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of Costa Rica. Zootaxa 151:1-150
  • Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
  • Lopes M. C., G. P. A. Lamarre, C. Baraloto, P. V. A. Fine, A. Vincentini, and F. B. Baccaro. 2019. The Amazonas-trap: a new method for sampling plant-inhabiting arthropod communities in tropical forest understory. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata https://doi.org/10.1111/eea.12797
  • Lutinski J. A., F. R. Mello Garcia, C. J. Lutinska, and S. Iop. 2008. Ants diversity in Floresta Nacional de Chapecó in Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Ciência Rural, Santa Maria 38(7): 1810-1816.
  • Mertl A. L., J. F. A. Traniello, K. Ryder Wilkie, and R. Constantino. 2012. Associations of two ecologically significant social insect taxa in the litter of an amazonian rainforest: is there a relationship between ant and termite species richness? Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/312054
  • Nascimento Santos M., J. H. C. Delabie, and J. M. Queiroz. 2019. Biodiversity conservation in urban parks: a study of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio de Janeiro City. Urban Ecosystems https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00872-8
  • Ottonetti L., L. Tucci, F. Frizzi, G. Chelazzi, and G. Santini. 2010. Changes in ground-foraging ant assemblages along a disturbance gradient in a tropical agricultural landscape. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 22: 73–86.
  • Philpott S. M., I. Perfecto, and J. Vandermeer. 2006. Effects of management intensity and season on arboreal ant diversity and abundance in coffee agroecosystems. 15: 139-155.
  • Philpott, S. M. 2006. Ant patchiness: a spatially quantitative test in coffee agroecosystems. Naturwissenschaften 93: 386-392.
  • Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
  • Rosumek, F.B., M.A. Ulyssea, B.C. Lopes, J. Steiner. 2008. Formigas de solo e de bromélias em uma área de Mata Atlântica, Ilha de Santa Catarina, sul do Brasil: Levantamento de espécies e novos registros. Revista Biotemas 21(4):81-89.
  • 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
  • Santos, J.C., J.H.C Delabie and G.W. Fernandes. 2008. Uma avaliação após 15 anos do efeito do fogo sobre a comunidade de formiga em uma área de floresta amazônica. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 52(1): 82-87.
  • Santos-Junior L. C., J. M. Saraiva, R. Silvestre, and W. F. Antonialli-Junior. 2014. Evaluation of Insects that Exploit Temporary Protein Resources Emphasizing the Action of Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a Neotropical Semi-deciduous Forest. Sociobiology 61(1): 43-51
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, P. de Tarso Amorim Castro, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2012. Annual and Seasonal Changes in the Structure of Litter-Dwelling Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic Semideciduous Forests. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/959715
  • Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, W. Duarte da Rocha, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2011. As comunidades de formigas de serapilheira nas florestas semidecíduas do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais. MG.BIOTA, Belo Horizonte 3(5): 5-24.
  • Smith M. A., W. Hallwachs, D. H. Janzen. 2014. Diversity and phylogenetic community structure of ants along a Costa Rican elevational gradient. Ecography 37(8): 720-731.
  • Ulyssea M.A., C. E. Cereto, F. B. Rosumek, R. R. Silva, and B. C. Lopes. 2011. Updated list of ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) recorded in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, with a discussion of research advances and priorities. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 55(4): 603-–611.
  • Vasconcelos, H.L., J.M.S. Vilhena, W.E. Magnusson and A.L.K.M. Albernaz. 2006. Long-term effects of forest fragmentation on Amazonian ant communities. Journal of Biogeography 33:1348-1356
  • Wheeler W. M. 1925. Neotropical ants in the collections of the Royal Museum of Stockholm. Arkiv för Zoologi 17A(8): 1-55.
Retrieved from "https://antwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Crematogaster_nigropilosa&oldid=694922"