photos 1–1000
Colobopsis truncata (Spinola 1808) ♀ (Hymenoptera Formicoidea Formicidæ Formicinæ Camponotini)
[Colobopsis Mayr 1861: 96+†0 (IT: 2+†0) spp]
Conspecific parapatric ☿, sx side; conspecific parapatric ♂♂, dorsal habitus and sx side.
Parabiotic of Camponotus lateralis, Crematogaster scutellaris, Lasius lasioides, Messor minor, Messor wasmanni, Solenopsis fugax.
Camponotus is an extremely large and complex, globally distributed genus. At present, nearly 500 sspp belonging to 45 sgg have been described and it could well be the largest ant genus of all. The enormous species richness, high levels of intraspecific and geographic variation and polymorphism render the taxonomy of Camponotus one of the most complex and difficult. Revisionary studies are generally confined to species groups and/or small geographical regions. These ants live in a variety of habitats and microhabitats and the sheer size of the genus makes any characterisation of their biology challenging. Nests are built in the ground, in rotten branches or twigs, or rarely into living wood and most spp possess a highly generalistic diet. Since 1889, Colobopsis has been used as a subgenus to include those Camponotus spp with sharply truncated heads in soldier ☿☿, as well as spp in which the anterior truncated surface of the head in major ☿☿ and in ♀♀ is distinctly marginate and in which even the mandibles have a sharp external ridge separating an anterior from a lateroventral face. In these spp the head presents a peculiar sculpture consisting of umbilicate punctures and there is an absence of a cocoon in the pupal stages of all the phases.
REFERENCES
P. Klimeš & al. 2022: Camponotini phylogeny.
Colobopsis truncata (Spinola 1808) ♀ (Hymenoptera Formicoidea Formicidæ Formicinæ Camponotini)
[Colobopsis Mayr 1861: 96+†0 (IT: 2+†0) spp]
Conspecific parapatric ☿, sx side; conspecific parapatric ♂♂, dorsal habitus and sx side.
Parabiotic of Camponotus lateralis, Crematogaster scutellaris, Lasius lasioides, Messor minor, Messor wasmanni, Solenopsis fugax.
Camponotus is an extremely large and complex, globally distributed genus. At present, nearly 500 sspp belonging to 45 sgg have been described and it could well be the largest ant genus of all. The enormous species richness, high levels of intraspecific and geographic variation and polymorphism render the taxonomy of Camponotus one of the most complex and difficult. Revisionary studies are generally confined to species groups and/or small geographical regions. These ants live in a variety of habitats and microhabitats and the sheer size of the genus makes any characterisation of their biology challenging. Nests are built in the ground, in rotten branches or twigs, or rarely into living wood and most spp possess a highly generalistic diet. Since 1889, Colobopsis has been used as a subgenus to include those Camponotus spp with sharply truncated heads in soldier ☿☿, as well as spp in which the anterior truncated surface of the head in major ☿☿ and in ♀♀ is distinctly marginate and in which even the mandibles have a sharp external ridge separating an anterior from a lateroventral face. In these spp the head presents a peculiar sculpture consisting of umbilicate punctures and there is an absence of a cocoon in the pupal stages of all the phases.
REFERENCES
P. Klimeš & al. 2022: Camponotini phylogeny.