Colobopsis leonardi

Colobopsis leonardi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Colobopsis
Species:	C. leonardi
Binomial name
Colobopsis leonardi (Emery, 1889) Specimen Labels
Subspecies
Colobopsis leonardi gracilenta (Viehmeyer, 1916) Colobopsis leonardi grisea (Karavaiev, 1929)
Synonyms
Colobopsis pubescens Mayr, 1862 Formica pilosa Smith, F., 1857

This is a dominant species that forms large colonies in the canopy of trees. It is a member of the Colobopsis cylindrica group, a set of species that employ a novel defensive strategy. Minor workers of these so called exploding ants will, when threatened, flex their gasters so hard that they rupture. This releases a toxic chemical mixture that they then attempt to smear on their antagonists.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 22.88333333° to -7.206667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore.
Oriental Region: India, Laos, Myanmar (type locality), Thailand.
Palaearctic Region: China.

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

Zettel et al. 2018. Figure 1.

Zettel et al. 2018. Figure 3.

A study by Zettel et al., (2018), in southern Thailand (Khao Chong Botanical Garden, Trang Province), provided insight into the diet of this species. This field study showed that ants from the Colobobopsis cylinderica group (the exploding ants) do in fact prey on and forage for animal prey. This novel finding dispels the previous suggestion that this group of ants may not forage at all for solid food.

The studied colony was found in a fallen branch (Figure 1) of a rambutan tree (Nephelium lappaceum L., Sapindaceae). Presumably this was an arboreal nest that had fallen from the tree, but it was not clear if this was the entire colony or one of a number of nests. The branch had a total length of more than five metres and a width of about 20 cm. Nest entrances were distributed along the branch. Entrances were one or two closely positioned holes with a diameter of ca 3–5 mm. A trail between two entrances was used by foraging workers continuously and in high frequency in both directions, constituting the majority of the observed worker activity. On the morning of June 6 (2016), various termite species offered along this trail were taken by workers. These were killed by a single forager and carried away. Other insects and woodlice offered along the ant trail were also carried to the nest, with some cut into fragments before transport or only their liquid or soft inner parts consumed or carried, respectively. Pieces of earthworms were accepted as well. All of these prey items were collected from around the nesting area. No instances of suicidal defensive behaviour (autothysis) were recorded during the experiments. All small prey items were taken up with the mandibles, lifted and brought to the nest entrance by single workers. Cooperation for dragging larger items was never observed. In contrast, the transport of medium-sized items, which could be dragged but not lifted by a single worker was slowed down or made almost impossible by further workers. In one instance, a single worker tried to drag the remains of a beetle pupa to the nest, but was hindered to do so for more than 20 minutes by other workers who tried to do the same. Only when the activity on the trail became low, the worker brought the item into the nest.

Photo © Vladimir Zryanin

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.

• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps camponoti-leonardi (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps camponoti-leonardi (a pathogen) (Andersen, Ferrari et al., 2012; Andersen, Hughes et al., 2012; Araujo et al., 2018; Shrestha et al., 2017).
• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps camponoti-saundersi (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps formicarum (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps formicarum (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
• This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Castes

.	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Camponotus leonardi. Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0905467. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Syntype of Camponotus leonardi. Worker. Specimen code casent0905468. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Syntype of Camponotus leonardi griseus. Worker. Specimen code casent0911627. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

• pilosa. Formica pilosa Smith, F. 1857a: 54 (w.) BORNEO. [Junior primary homonym of pilosa Olivier, above.] Replacement name (first available): leonardi Emery, 1889b: 515 (see there). Combination in Colobopsis: Mayr, 1862: 691; in Camponotus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 247; in C. (Colobopsis): Forel, 1912i: 90. Senior synonym of pubescens: Emery, 1900d: 706.
• pubescens. Colobopsis pubescens Mayr, 1862: 691 (q.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi). Mayr, 1867a: 68 (w.). [Unresolved junior secondary homonym of Formica pubescens Fabricius, above.] Junior synonym of pilosa: Emery, 1900d: 706.
• leonardi. Camponotus (Colobopsis) leonardi Emery, 1889b: 515, pl. 11, figs. 22, 23 (s.w.) MYANMAR. Karavaiev, 1929c: 243 (m.). [Junior synonyn of pilosa Smith, F. 1857a: 54 (and its junior synonym pubescens Mayr, 1862: 691). However, as both these earlier names are themselves junior homonyms within Camponotus, leonardi becomes the first available name for this taxon: Bolton, 1995b: 108. Combination in Colobopsis: Ward, et al., 2016: 350. See: Forel, 1893b: 437; Dalla Torre, 1893: 248; Emery, 1900d: 706; Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 115; Emery, 1921a: 25; Emery, 1925b: 149.] Current subspecies: nominal plus gracilenta, grisea.

References

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